Sterling and Currency - Australian Gold Coinagehttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/australian-gold-coinage
enThe 1887 Sydney Gold Two Pound Proof Coin - Royalty, Mystery and Scandalhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/1887-sydney-gold-two-pound-proof-coin-royalty-mystery-and-scandal
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 13px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">The 1887 Sydney Two Pound Proof is one of Australia’s rarest gold coins. It is in fact so rare that senior staff at the Royal Mint in London were still not aware that it existed until 1922 - more than 3 decades after it was struck. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">It has been a highlight of a number of Australia’s finest collections of gold coins - Dangar; Farouk; Dixson and Quartermaster to name but a few, yet despite those provenances, the history of this coin has been presumed and not definitively known. This uncertainty is no doubt grounded in a near-complete absence of official Mint records accounting for its production.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-align: center;"><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/1887S_BOTH_SIDES.png" alt="1887 Sydney Two Pound Proof Coin" title="1887 Sydney Two Pound Proof Coin" width="450" height="225" style="margin: 10px; vertical-align: middle;" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The accepted explanation for the existence of the 1887 Sydney Two Pound is that it was a commemorative struck in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, and further that it was specifically intended for distribution to VIP’s. Research conducted in the preparation of this article has proven that is not the case.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">As several examples of this coin exhibit a proof-like or orange-peel appearance, it has been presumed that two batches of dies were used to strike the 1887 Sydney £2 proof coins, and further that the proof-like coins were re-struck after 1887. Numerous comments have been published that these coins either were or could have been struck in 1893, “in or around 1900”, in 1902 and in 1926. Research conducted in the preparation of this article has proven that none of those dates are correct.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The process of authenticating and attributing these coins is further complicated by the activity of the counterfeiter David Gee. The transcript of the court case against Gee shows that he attempted to strike and pass off several of these coins in the 1970’s. It is of course vital to understand just what technical characteristics these counterfeits have.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">This article explains the background to the production of the 1887 Sydney Two Pound Proof coin, explores the technical characteristics of known examples and touches on the characteristics of several of Gee’s counterfeits.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">With this new information, collectors can have a clear understanding of where this incredibly rare gold coin sits in the scheme of Australia’s gold coinage, and can have confidence in the characteristics that a genuine example exhibits.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Queen Victoria’s 1887 Golden Jubilee in Sydney - An Outpouring of Royalist and Republican Sentiment <img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/GOVERNOR_CARRINGTON.png" alt="Governor Carrington" title="Governor Carrington" width="156" height="191" style="margin: 10px; float: right;" /></strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The 50</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> anniversary of Victoria’s reign was widely celebrated across Great Britain and the Commonwealth. Such was the interest in Britain on this special occasion, the crowd that gathered to view the Royal procession was described by the American writer Mark Twain as “stretched to the limit of sight in both directions.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>1</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">In Britain, the public had such a strong interest in the Jubilee celebrations that “…the gold five-pound pieces were so much in demand that a premium was being paid on some of them.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>2</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">”</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">In Australia, despite or perhaps because of the strong public expressions of affection for the monarch, Republican sentiment in New South Wales was at a high point across 1887 and 1888. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">A series of boisterous public meetings were held in Sydney in June 1887 to determine how to best congratulate Queen Victoria on her Golden Jubilee. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Clashes on the role of the monarchy in Australia between royalists and republicans continued for several weeks, a newspaper report described one of the meetings as “an absolute chaos of uproar, confusion, faction-fighting and ruffianism of a most disgraceful and unprecedented character in the history of the colony.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>3</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">”</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The “Queen's Jubilee Fund for Distressed Women in New South Wales”, chaired by the Governor’s wife, Lady Cecilia Carrington, was adjudged as being a fitting tribute</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>4</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> to make to Queen Victoria. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The launch of this fund was planned for the evening of June 15</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1887, in the Sydney Exhibition Building. Either by accident or design, decisions regarding other commemorative events that would celebrate Queen Victoria’s testimonial were held over to the same event.<img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/SYDNEY_EXHIBITION_BUILDING.png" alt="Sydney Exhibition Building" title="Sydney Exhibition Building" width="288" height="172" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Contemporary newspaper accounts state that 20,000 people attended, and that “In order to secure 'liberty of speech', the police and army and navy reserve, supported by the members of the Loyal Orange Institution, the Primrose League, several football clubs, and the undergraduates of the University, divided the audience of ten thousand inside the building into small, manageable squares. The ten thousand outside were marshalled by a group of mounted police. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The platform, defended by a group of undergraduates and footballers, was rushed by the crowd and in the 'hand-to-hand combat' which ensued, a large cedar table and a number of chairs were 'completely smashed, and the fragments scattered far and wide'. The bearers of the banner were forced to beat a hasty retreat. After the uproar had continued for about 20 minutes 'a sudden change came over the scene.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>5</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">”</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Dignity was restored when the Governor and Lady Carrington entered the stage for the motion to found the women’s fund. After they left the building, the crowd resumed their confrontation. The meeting was declared closed at 830pm, and a line of police were used to clear the hall. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">No less than 6 days after playing a pivotal role in calming “a demonstration without parallel in the history of Australia</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>6</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">”, Lady Cecilia Carrington helped strike the first Jubilee gold coins at the Sydney Mint.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Although the above events appear to have only a passing relationship to the gold 1887 patterns of the Sydney Mint, they do give us a clear idea of the fundamental role that the Royal Family played in Australian life during this era, and the regard that symbols of the Royal family were held in, at least by the majority of the general public.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>An Exclusive Commemorative to Mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The accepted explanation for the existence of the 1887 Sydney Two Pound and Five Pound Proofs is that they were commemoratives struck in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, and further that they were specifically intended for distribution to VIP’s. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">On that basis, one would expect that they were struck prior to June 20</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> and 21</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>st</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> in 1887 - the exact dates of Victoria’s Jubilee. Mint records do not confirm that. The dies used to strike these coins are not listed among the first Jubilee dies sent to Sydney on April 14</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1887, nor were the coins mentioned in newspaper articles covering the production of the first Jubilee coins at Sydney.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/NEWSPAPER_ARTICLE.png" alt="The Australian Town and Country Journal - New Sovereigns" title="The Australian Town and Country Journal - New Sovereigns" width="152" height="284" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The Australian Town and Country Journal of Saturday 25 June 1887 announced that “Among the incidents of the present Royal Jubilee is the issue of new sovereigns and half sovereigns from the Royal Mint, and its Australian branches. The new coinage was begun in the Sydney Mint on Monday, June 20, in the presence of Lord and Lady Carrington, and the coins were put in circulation Wednesday last, the first proof specimens being preserved in the Australian Museum, the Technological Museum and the Art Gallery.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>7</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” The final comment is an interesting anecdote regarding the distribution of the archival coins that were chosen to commemorate the event.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Designing the Jubilee Portrait - A Very Drawn Out Process</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The process by which designs for the Jubilee coinage evolved from concept to reality was a very drawn out process, and began in February 1879 when Sir Henry Ponsonby, the Queen's private secretary, informed the Deputy Master of the Royal Mint, Sir Charles Fremantle, “that Boehm had been ordered to execute a new effigy of the queen to serve as the model for future dies.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>8</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">”</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">With respect to Boehm’s work on the Jubilee portrait of Queen Victoria, his obituary included the comment that: “Boehm had been greatly hampered by his instructions.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>9</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Queen Victoria preferred Boehm’s effigy, however unfortunately Royal Mint staff experienced numerous challenges when attempting to translate Boehm’s sculpture into a design that could be effectively used on coinage. These challenges succinctly are expressed in a comment made by Sir William Chandler Roberts-Austen, who was Chemist and Assayer to the Royal Mint between 1882 and 1902: “a coin must be struck at a single blow, &amp; Boehm's design, in plaster, was too high for this to be possible”.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>10</sup></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/BOEHM_BUST.png" alt="Bust of Boehm" title="Bust of Boehm" width="138" height="179" style="float: left; margin: 10px;" />The direct consequence of the drawn out design refinement process is that the time available for the actual production of the Jubilee coinage was quite tight - the Queen did not formally approve Boehm’s portrait until April 1</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>st</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1887,</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>11</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> less than 2 months before the date of her Jubilee. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Sovereign and half sovereign dies were shipped to the Sydney and Melbourne Mints on April 14</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1887,</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>12</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> and did not arrive in Sydney until May 31</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>st</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1887 - less than 3 weeks before the date of Victoria’s Jubilee.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>13</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Correspondence retrieved from the “Registers of Correspondence” held by the Royal Mint demonstrate that the dies for the 1887 £2 and £5 coins were not dispatched to Sydney until September 30</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1887,</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>14</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> more than four months after the date of Victoria’s Jubilee celebrations, and were received by Sydney on December 8</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1887. Correspondence retrieved from the Register of Correspondence in the Sydney Mint archives confirms this.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Recent research by the British numismatist David Iverson has shown that Royal Mint staff were under so much pressure in the period leading into Victoria’s Jubilee that it was necessary to hand-finish the obverse dies for the 1887 Sydney Jubilee sovereigns.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>15</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> In this context, it is understandable if dies for circulating coinage were a higher priority than those that were not intended for circulation.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>The First Batch of Dies - Sunk In A Shipwreck?</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">One further explanation for the late arrival of the dies is found in a perhaps unlikely source - a book that covered the David Gee legal case in the 1970’s - “Heads I Win”. <img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/HEADS_I_WIN_COVER.png" alt="Heads I Win" title="Heads I Win" width="137" height="206" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">A passage in this book advises that “The dies from which the coins were to be struck were made in the Tower Mint, London, and then shipped to Australia. The vessel carrying them ran into bad weather in that maritime graveyard of last century, the Great Australian Bight, and sank off the South Australian coast. However, the box containing the dies was brought safely ashore and sent on to the waiting Sydney Mint by horseback, wagon and coach. It was a long and harrowing journey across a still wild country, and it was all in vain. When the dies arrived in Sydney they were found to be too badly corroded by their brief immersion in seawater to be used. So a second set of dies was ordered from England.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>16</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">”</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">A review of the correspondence registers of the Royal Mint and the Sydney Mint indicates that the author may have used some poetic licence with the available facts. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Although there were perhaps half a dozen shipwrecks recorded off the South Australian coast across 1887, none of them had London as their port of departure.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>17</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> Two sections of the Sydney Mint correspondence files retained at the NSW State Archives indicate that something did indeed happen to the dies while they were en route to Sydney - the first correspondence was in December 1887, the second in the mid-1920’s.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Correspondence in 1887 Regarding the Dies</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">On December 8</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1887, the Deputy Master of the Sydney Mint, Robert Hunt, wrote to the Superintendent of the Royal Mint in London (Charles Fremantle) regarding a parcel of dies that the Sydney Mint had just received. In his letter, Hunt stated that “…regret to have to report that on opening the case the dies were found to be loose and more or less rusty. Nearly all the dies bore marks of friction and one £5 die in particular was much marked.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>18</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” No shipwreck or other maritime mishap is mentioned, nor is there any evidence that these £2 and £5 dies dated 1887 were destroyed or repaired after they were received.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Final confirmation that no 1887 £2 proofs were struck by the Sydney Mint in 1887 can be taken from a comment in another letter from Deputy Master Hunt to Sir Charles Fremantle on the same date, where Hunt advises that “We have not as yet struck any £5 or £2 pieces and then await your instructions.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>19</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” <img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/HUNT_LETTER.png" alt="Hunt Letter" title="Hunt Letter" width="482" height="146" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 10px auto; display: block;" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Correspondence in the 1920’s Sheds More Light</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The second batch of correspondence relevant to the production of the 1887 £2 and £5 dies occurred in the 1920’s. That correspondence was between two British coin collectors; the Deputy Master of the Sydney Mint and the Superintendent of the Royal Mint in London.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Early in 1922, William Hocking, Superintendent of the Royal Mint, received a letter from a stamp and coin dealer based in London, George Hamilton-Smith. Hamilton-Smith was a partner in and Managing Director of Glendining &amp; Co Auctioneers from 1922, and is known to have been a keen collector of coins and medals.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>20<img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/HOCKING_PORTRAIT.png" alt="Hocking Portrait" title="Hocking Portrait" width="174" height="173" style="margin: 10px; float: left;" /></sup></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Hocking is noted as the author of “Catalogue Of The Coins, Tokens, Medals, Dies And Seals In The Museum Of The Royal Mint", published by the Royal Mint in 1906. Although Hocking’s book notes that pattern gold coins were struck at the Sydney Mint in 1893</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>21</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> (in itself a remarkable, and wholly unsupported comment), he apparently did not feel that he was in a position to answer Hamilton-Smith’s letter accurately, and he instead directed the question to the Deputy Master of the Sydney Mint, John Campbell.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Hocking advised Campbell that Hamilton-Smith had stated he owned “sets of Jubilee specimens … bearing your mintmark “S”, and that as the Royal Mint had no records of any such coins being struck, he found that “somewhat disconcerting.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>22</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” Hocking pointedly asked Campbell “Have you, in your records, anything which shows that sets were issued by your branch?”</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>23</sup></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Campbell wrote responses to both Hamilton-Smith and Hocking several months later. The text of Campbell’s letter to Hocking is as follows:</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">“With reference to your letter of the 2</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>nd</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> January last I have to state that according to the records of this Branch of the Royal Mint two Five-Pound pieces and twenty-five Two-pound pieces of the “Jubilee” coinage, dated 1887, and having the Mint mark “S”, were issued between the 10</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> October, 1888 and the 7</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> December 1892. The name of J.G. Murdoch does not appear in the records and the piece in your possession may possibly have been purchased by him from another collector.”</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>24</sup></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Campbell provided Hocking with a copy of his response to Hamilton-Smith, and was somewhat more expansive with details regarding the two coins concerned: “I would supplement this official information for your benefit by letting you know that one Five-pound piece was issued to H.C. Dangar and one to Dr. Evans, both well known collectors, on the 7</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> December, 1892. Evan’s collection was sold, but I do not know what became of Dangar’s. The Two-pound pieces were issued to sundry persons, one of whom I remember was a hawker travelling the back country, who used to dispose of them on his rounds at a considerable profit, The premium charged was 25 per cent. The dies are still here, as are the dies for the 1893 Five-pound and Two-pound issue.<img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/HOCKING_LETTER.png" alt="Hocking Letter to Campbell" title="Hocking Letter to Campbell" width="164" height="218" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Now here’s a point. It is just possible (You know how things were in 1893) that one or two additional pieces may have been issued in exchange for sovereigns without appearing on the records. There has always been a hazy idea that something of the sort happened, but I have no proof whatever, nor do I know to whom such pieces would be given. You are of course at liberty to supplement the official information given to Hamilton Smith as you may think best.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>25</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">”</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">This correspondence gives us a definitive mintage for the 1887 Sydney Two Pound Proof, and also defines the date range over which they were originally struck.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Correspondence ex London Discusses A Second Batch of Dies</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">No evidence has been found in the correspondence registers of either the Royal Mint or the Sydney Mint of a second parcel of 1887-dated £2 and £5 dies being dispatched to replace those that were “rusty and damaged”. Research into the correspondence registers at the Royal Mint and the Sydney Mint indicates that the second batch of £5 and £2 dies sent to Sydney after September 1887 is that detailed below: </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">15th November 1887</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">2 Obv. £5 dies; </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">2 Rev. £5 “ 1888; </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">2 Obv. £2 “; </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">2 Rev. £2 “ 1888</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">32 Obv. Sov “ ;</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">32 Rev. Sov “ 1888</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>26</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">;</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Anyone familiar with Australian gold coins will be aware that this apparently dry and uninteresting manifest is nothing short of remarkable, as it reveals the Sydney Mint had dies for 1888-dated £2 and £5 coins, and that these have never been seen. Just why the 1887-dated dies were apparently used to strike coins once the 1888-dated dies were available is not known.<img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/DIE_INFORMATION.png" alt="1888 Die Information" title="1888 Die Information" width="482" height="231" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>A Review of Existing Literature Covering the 1887 Sydney Two Pound Proof</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The existing written references that cover the production of these coins advise variously that they either were or could have been struck in 1893, “in or around 1900”, in 1902 or 1926. Each of these propositions are reviewed below.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Struck at the Sydney Branch of the Royal Mint in 1887 </strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The earliest discussion of the production of this coin in the public domain can be found in the 1953 auction catalogue by Glendining &amp; Co for the Dangar collection: “Jubilee Two Pound Piece 1887, of similar type to the last, and extremely rare, believed to be only 11 struck. Extremely fine and Probably struck as a proof.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>27</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” No official information was cited to support that estimate.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/DANGAR_CATALOGUE_COVER.jpg" alt="HC Dangar Auction Catalogue Cover" title="HC Dangar Auction Catalogue Cover" width="225" height="300" style="float: left; margin: 10px;" />Henry Cary Dangar was a prominent Sydney barrister, politician and sportsman that was active in numismatics from the late 1800’s through to the early 1900’s. His collection has been described as being one of the most important collections of Australian coins formed prior to Federation, and contained numerous Australian and British numismatic rarities. This mintage figure has been repeated several times in various auction lot descriptions by several very experienced numismatists over the years,</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>28</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> the primary documents that support it are yet to be located.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Later in 1953, James Hunt Deacon wrote in Volume 4 of the South Australian Numismatic Journal: “Some specimens of the £5 and £2 were struck at the Sydney Branch of the Royal Mint in 1887, bearing the Jubilee Head (Type Vl) and St. George and the Dragon (Type C) (d.w.). There are no records in the Mint Report of that year as to the number of specimens struck and consequently these must be regarded as Bullion. These pieces carry the reference numbers 129 and 130 respectively.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>29</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” Hunt Deacon does not cite a primary reference for this conclusion, information in the Correspondence Registers indicates that he was mistaken.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Struck at the Sydney Mint in 1893</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">An intriguing comment is be found in the “Catalogue of the Coins, Tokens, Medals, Dies and Seals in the Museum of the Royal Mint”, prepared by William Hosking for the Royal Mint in 1906. A note on page 325 of the catalogue states that “Specimen five pound and two pound pieces were struck at the Sydney branch mint in 1893.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>30</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” Unfortunately, does not provide a mintage figure, nor is any explanation given on the circumstances under which the coins were struck, nor were the dates on the reverse dies mentioned.<img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/MUSEUM_CATALOUE_COVER.png" alt="Royal Mint Museum Catalogue Cover" title="Royal Mint Museum Catalogue Cover" width="157" height="240" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Possibly Struck at the Sydney Mint “Around 1900”</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">An auction lot description for one Sydney Two Pound proof coin offered for sale in November 1986 contained the following comment “Struck as a semi frosted proof circa 1900. All told, about 10 examples were struck.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>31</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">" No supporting documentation was referred to in that comment, nor has any been discovered since then. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Struck at the Sydney Mint in 1926?</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The former numismatic curator at Museum Victoria, John Sharples, has conducted extensive research into the numismatic collection of Museum Victoria, as well as the collection formed by the former Deputy Master of the Melbourne Mint between 1921 and 1926, Albert Malet Le Souef. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Research into the archival records of the Melbourne Mint by Sharples has shown that Le Souef was instrumental in re-striking the 1887 and 1902 £2 and £5 Sydney proof coins.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/WILLIAM_DIXSON.png" alt="Sir William Dixson" title="Sir William Dixson" width="195" height="239" style="float: left; margin: 10px;" />Sharples’ comments on the manufacture of these coins were not intended to be comprehensive, and are presented in the context of articles that are much larger in scope. Although his comments focus more on the 1902 Sydney proof £2 and £5 gold coins, the primary documents that Sharples was working from demonstrate that they apply equally to the same denominations dated 1887.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">In his catalogue of the A.M. Le Souef collection, John Sharples stated that the 1902 Sydney Proof £2 coin was “One of three struck at the closure of the Sydney Mint in 1926. The other two were for Sir William Dixon and the Melbourne Branch of the Royal Mint.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>32</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” Sharples stated elsewhere in the same article that just 3 of the 1887 Jubilee Head £2 coins were re-struck in 1926.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>33</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The mintage figures reported by Sharples are confirmed by referring to Melbourne Mint correspondence files between Le Souef and William &amp; Robert Dixson, however the date and location at which those coins were struck may be clarified.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Struck at the Melbourne Mint in 1927</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Correspondence between Le Souef and William &amp; Robert Dixson, now housed in the collections of the Museum Victoria and the Dixson Library (in the State Library of NSW) indicates that the coins Sharples refers to were in fact struck at the Melbourne Mint in February 1927, rather than at the Sydney Mint in June 1926.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">In a letter dated January 11</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1927, Le Souef wrote to Robert Dixson in Sydney, advising that “Dies were also prepared with a distinctive Mint Mark S. For £5 and £2 pieces of Victoria 1887 and Edward VII 1902. I can strike you one of each of these pieces and hand you the dies lightly defaced by a cut which does not impair the design more than is necessary to prevent the dies being used again.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>34</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” Later in the same letter, Le Souef states that 13 pairs of unused sovereign dies were also available for Dixson to purchase, “…and these are very lightly defaced with a fine cut, so that the original polish is left on the surface.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>35</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” Le Souef advised that “…the total cost of the above would be £115.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>36</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">”<img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/NAA_JOURNAL_2_COVER.png" alt="NAA Journal Number 2 Cover" title="NAA Journal Number 2 Cover" width="145" height="200" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">In his work covering the history of the Melbourne Mint, former staff member Bill Mullett has written regarding Le Souef’s proposal that “…the proposition was referred to the London authorities and their concurrence gave some propriety to the matter.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>37</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” The correspondence upon which Mullett’s statement is based is yet to be located.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Melbourne Mint correspondence records show that on January 12</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">, Le Souef wrote to “Mr Green” at the Melbourne Mint, and advised him that “Mr Clucas has a list of the other coins and medals in preparation for Mr Dixson and for the Melbourne Mint collection. If these can be ready on my return on the 24</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> I will pay for them then and we can send them off with the dies to Sydney. I should however, have to destroy some of the dies before their despatch.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>38</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Primary documents in Museum Victoria archives shows that these coins were struck at the Melbourne Mint on February 25</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1927, and were then shipped to Robert Dixson in Sydney on February 28</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">, 1927.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>39</sup></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/AM_LE_SOUEF.png" alt="Albert Malet Le Souef" title="Albert Malet Le Souef" width="166" height="242" style="float: left; margin: 10px;" />Noticeably absent from Le Souef’s letter to Green were any instructions to repair the dies concerned before they were to be used, which indicates that the re-struck coins should all have the same basic technical characteristics as those struck between 1888 and 1892.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Cross-Referencing Bullion Allocated Against Medals Struck</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Melbourne Mint staff recorded the number of each of the 1887 and 1902 £2 and £5 they struck on that date. The reason it appears that the coins Sharples’ has stated were struck in Sydney in 1926 were in fact struck in Melbourne in 1927 is that a minor arithmetical oversight is common to both sets of figures.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The table prepared by Melbourne Mint staff shows a total of 34 “medals” were struck on that date.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>40</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> If that production list is cross-referenced against the bullion allocated to the production of those medals,</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>41</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> we can see that the number of medals struck is short by 1, and that the total number of medals struck from the allocated bullion was in fact 35, rather than 34. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The mintage of the Sydney £2 Proof coins (dated 1887 and 1902) was in fact 6 coins across both dates, rather than 5 as the production list states. One example of each coin dated 1887 and 1902 was struck for Dixson; the Melbourne Mint and Le Souef himself. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">This arithmetical discrepancy is also seen in the mintage figures quoted by Sharples, and while it is of course conceivable that Sydney Mint records may yet show that the same number of 1887 and 1902 gold proof coins were also struck at the Sydney Mint in June 1926, such records have not yet been located.<img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/MEDALS_STRUCK.png" alt="Medals Struck - Melbourne Mint February 1927" title="Medals Struck - Melbourne Mint February 1927" width="482" height="245" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 10px auto; display: block;" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The 1887 Sydney Two Pound proof coin struck for the Melbourne Mint is now housed in the Museum Victoria numismatic collection, while after a somewhat journeyed history, the coin struck for Sir William Dixson remains in the Dixson Library collection within the SLNSW. John Sharples has stated that the example struck for Le Souef was “missing in 1976 stocktake.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>42</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">” The present location of this coin is not known.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>A Further Complication - David Gee and the Dixson Library</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">An additional factor that must be taken into account when classifying known examples of the 1887 Sydney Two Pound Proof are the activities of David Gee.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">For those not familiar with him, David Gee was a Sydney-based coin and stamp collector active in the 1960’s and 1970’s, who was convicted of stealing coins and dies from the State Library of New South Wales, as well as of counterfeiting coins from those stolen dies.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>43</sup></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Over the space of several years, Gee made regular visits to the SLNSW to view coins held by the Dixson collection, and also to take photographs of them. It is understood that the photographs were taken using “…a Box Brownie mounted in a large camera box…”</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>44</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> SLNSW records indicated that Gee also asked to examine dies from the Dixson collection during this time, the case against Gee was that the coins and dies were smuggled out via the camera box.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>The Dies Were Scored Immediately After They Were Used for the Last Time <img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/GEE_PUNCH.png" alt="Obverse Punch Created by David Gee" title="Obverse Punch Created by David Gee" width="180" height="240" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Le Souef’s correspondence with Dixson indicated that the dies were scored shortly after they were used to strike the coins for Dixson, the Melbourne Mint and for Le Souef,</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>45</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> and before they were dispatched to Sydney on February 28</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1927. Le Souef’s instructions to Green dated January 12</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> 1927 make no reference to the dies needing any repair or restoration before being put into use.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>46</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">This indicates that any of the coins struck at the Melbourne Mint in 1927 should have the same overall technical characteristics as those struck between 1888 and 1892.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">On that basis, we can conclude that any coins that show additional die markers to those known to be genuine should be carefully reviewed to determine whether they have been struck by David Gee from the stolen and repaired dies.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Analysis of the technical characteristics of the coins held by the Museum of Victoria and the Dixson collection has determined that they do not show any superfluous die markers. The following points can be noted regarding these coins:</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Surfaces: Satin / matte, no frosting is evident in the relief</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Strike: Strong - fine details are sharp right across both sides</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Obverse die characteristics: 14 pearls in necklace</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Reverse die characteristics: No spur in tail; tail points towards lance; BP evident; mintmark above the centre line of the date.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Die Markers for Coins Struck by Gee Using Restored Dies Stolen from the SLNSW</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/GEE_DIE.png" alt="Obverse Die Created by David Gee" title="Obverse Die Created by David Gee" width="225" height="231" style="float: left; margin: 10px;" />Publicly available images of the 1887 Sydney Five Pound Proof coin dies, published in “Heads I Win”, clearly depict a pair of dies used to strike the 1887 Sydney Gold Five Pounds with a deep score mark across the faces of both dies.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The tradesmen at The Exclusive Diesinking and Engraving Company in Peakhurst that had unwittingly repaired the dies for Gee advised him that “they could not repair his die so that unblemished "fantasy pieces" could be struck from it, but they could make him a new die which would not have the disfiguring score-mark. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">After some experimentation that proved unsuccessful, the partners suggested that a process known in the diesinking trade as "hobbing" might do a better job of repairing and reproducing the die.</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>47</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">”</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">They did not have the appropriate machinery to perform this task, so referred him to another business in Sydney that was able to make a “hob” from the scored die. The raised score line across that “hob” was then removed, and the surface of the hob was repaired to restore the lost design elements. A new die was then created from the repaired hob.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Numismatists acknowledge that the process by which counterfeit coins are manufactured from transfer dies results in a slight loss of fine detail, when the counterfeit coins are compared to coins struck from the original dies. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Die markers that are evident on either the original dies, the counterfeit hob or the counterfeit dies are also seen on the coins that are struck from them.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Several of the 1887 Sydney gold £2 coins counterfeited by David Gee, as well as a counterfeit die and a counterfeit hub that Gee struck are all held in the National Coin Collection (housed at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra). A physical assessment of them is useful in determining how to identify possible counterfeits. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The National Collection holds three 1887 Sydney gold £2 coins counterfeited by David Gee - the first has been struck from dies created from a genuine London £2 proof that has has a mintmark added to it. The shape of the mintmark on this coin clearly does not confirm with that seen on examples known to be authentic. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/NATIONAL_COIN_COLLECTION.png" alt="National Coin Collection" title="National Coin Collection" width="482" height="142" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 10px auto; display: block;" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The other two counterfeits show very obvious signs of having been struck from the scored dies that Gee stole from the Dixson Library. These coins have uneven surfaces in those sections where the score mark would have been repaired, there are weaknesses in the fine details, and sections of the design have been re-engraved. These characteristics mean these particular Gee counterfeits are very easily identified.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Numismatic Characteristics of Known Examples</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The British numismatists David Iverson and Steve Hill have conducted a great deal of research into the Jubilee Head gold sovereigns in recent years</span><span style="font-size: 6px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>48</sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> - the criteria used to demonstrate the evolution in the dies used to strike the 1887 Jubilee sovereigns are useful for the purpose of classifying known examples of the 1887 Sydney Two Pound Proof.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Technical Characteristics of the 1887 Sydney Two Pound ProofSummary of Research Into Correspondence Registers</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The research conducted into the correspondence registers of the Royal and Sydney Mints yields the following information:</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px 36px; text-indent: -36px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"> • No 1887 Sydney Proof gold £2 and £5 coins were struck at the time of Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in June 1887;</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px 36px; text-indent: -36px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"> • 25 1887 Sydney £2 proofs were struck prior to 1922 ;</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px 36px; text-indent: -36px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"> • 3 1887 Sydney £2 proofs were struck at the Melbourne Mint in February 1927;</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px 36px; text-indent: -36px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"> • The dies were damaged before they were first used; and</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px 36px; text-indent: -36px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"> • £2 dies were prepared for the Sydney Mint dated 1888 and 1893, but were not used.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The 1887 Sydney Gold £2 Proof is unequivocally one of Australia’s rarest and most keenly-sought gold coins. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Although the Sydney Mint struck £5 and £2 gold coins dated 1887 and 1902, as only 2 examples are known in private hands of the 1902 £5; 1902 £2 and 1887 £5, the 1887 Sydney £2 is realistically the only Australian high denomination gold coin that most collectors will have the opportunity to own.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">It has a history rich in royalty, mystery and scandal, and has been included in each of the finest collections of Australian gold coins ever formed. It is so rare and exclusive that the Royal Mint in London was not confident it existed more than three decades after it was first struck.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><strong>Acknowledgements</strong></p>
<p>My thanks are due to the following people and organisations for their assistance in providing the information found in this article:</p>
<p>David Iverson<br />Tony Byrne<br />Dr T. Vince Verheyen<br />Jim Noble<br />Matt Curtis and the staff at the Royal Mint Museum (London)<br />David Berry and the staff at the Dixson Library (SLNSW)<br />Staff at NSW Archives</p>
<p>Any omissions or errors found in this article are entirely the responsibility of the author.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><img src="webkit-fake-url://61BF3BF1-D65E-43BD-9652-965F3B985E05/pastedGraphic.png" alt="pastedGraphic.png" /></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>1 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Twain, Mark, “A Tramp Abroad, Following the Equator, Other Travels”, The Library of America, 2010, p 1050.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>2 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Lant; J.J., "The Jubilee Coinage Of 1887" in the British Numismatic Society Journal, 53, 1973, p 137.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>3 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Daily Telegraph, Sydney, June 11th 1887, p6.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>4 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Sear, Margaret, “Femininity that calmed the crowds: Lady Carrington at the queen's jubilee celebrations Sydney 1887”; Journal of Australian Studies Volume 21, Issue 52, 1997, p11.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>5 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Sear, Margaret, “Femininity that calmed the crowds: Lady Carrington at the queen's jubilee celebrations Sydney 1887”; Journal of Australian Studies Volume 21, Issue 52, 1997, p12.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>6 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Daily Telegraph, Sydney, June 16th 1887, p5.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>7 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney), Saturday 25 June 1887, page 30</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>8 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Op. Cit., Boehm, p275</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>9 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">The Times Newspaper, London, 13 December 1890, p. 9.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>10 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Op. Cit., Boehm, p281</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>11 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Op. Cit., Boehm, p280</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>12 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Op. Cit., Iverson I, p6</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>13 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Iverson, David &amp; Hill, Stephen [Ed.], “The Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign 1887-1893”, Baldwin’s, London, 2015, p6.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>14 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">NSW Archives; NRS 13137</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>15 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Ibid, p6</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>16 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Watson, Thomas &amp; Bennett; , "Heads I Win", Angus &amp; Robertson, Sydney, 1986, p 14.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>17 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"><a href="https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/shipwrecks">https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/shipwrecks</a></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>18 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">NSW Archives, Copies of letters sent [Royal Mint, Sydney Branch], NRS 13138.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>19 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Royal Mint: Registers of Correspondence; MINT 21</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>20 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"><a href="https://archive.li/oGJ5Y">https://archive.li/oGJ5Y</a></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>21 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Hocking; WJ, “Catalogue of the coins, tokens, medals, dies and seals in the museum of the Royal Mint", Royal Mint, London, 1906, p 325.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>22 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">NSW Archives, Copies of letters sent [Royal Mint, Sydney Branch], NRS 13138.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>23 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">NSW Archives, Copies of letters sent [Royal Mint, Sydney Branch], NRS 13138.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>24 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">NSW Archives, Copies of letters sent [Royal Mint, Sydney Branch], NRS 13138.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>25 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">NSW Archives, Copies of letters sent [Royal Mint, Sydney Branch], NRS 13138.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>26 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Royal Mint: Registers of Correspondence; MINT 21</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>27 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">“Catalogue of the important collection of Greek, Roman, English, Australian and foreign gold and silver coins, formed by the late H.C. Dangar”, Glendining, 15 April 1953, p21</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>28 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Fenton; Stephen, "Auction Number 3", St James Auctions, Knightsbridge (London), October 3rd 2005, p Lot 105.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>29 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Hunt Deacon; James, “Australian Minted Imperial Gold“ in the South Australian Numismatic Journal, Volume 4, 1953, p 30.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>30 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Hocking; WJ, “Catalogue of the coins, tokens, medals, dies and seals in the museum of the Royal Mint", Royal Mint, London, 1906, p 325.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>31 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Lot #716, Noble Numismatics Auction 20 (November 1986).</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>32 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Sharples; John, "Catalogue Of Coins, Medals &amp; Checks In The A. M. Le Souef Collection" in the NAA Journal, Volume 2, 1986, p26 (Footnote 4).</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>33 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Sharples; John, "Catalogue Of Coins, Medals &amp; Checks In The A. M. Le Souef Collection" in the NAA Journal, Volume 2, 1986, p26 (Footnote 2).</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>34 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Dixson, William, Sir, 1870-1952. "Sir William Dixson Correspondence and Notes, 1898- 1952."</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>35 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Dixson, William, Sir, 1870-1952. "Sir William Dixson Correspondence and Notes, 1898- 1952."</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>36 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Dixson, William, Sir, 1870-1952. "Sir William Dixson Correspondence and Notes, 1898- 1952."</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>37 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Mullett; WJ, "Melbourne Mint - Branch of the Royal Mint, The Establishment", Self-published, Chifley (ACT), 1992, p 34.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>38 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Melbourne Mint correspondence</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>39 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Melbourne Mint correspondence</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>40 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Melbourne Mint correspondence</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>41 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Melbourne Mint correspondence</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>42 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Sharples; John, "Catalogue Of Coins, Medals &amp; Checks In The A. M. Le Souef Collection" in the NAA Journal, Volume 2, 1986, p26 (Footnote 2).</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>43 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">“Crime that branded our rare coins”, Sydney Morning Herald, March 3, 1979, Page 6.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>44 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Watson, Thomas &amp; Bennett; , "Heads I Win", Angus &amp; Robertson, Sydney, 1986, p 66.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>45 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Melbourne Mint correspondence</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>46 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Melbourne Mint correspondence</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>47 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Watson, Thomas &amp; Bennett; , "Heads I Win", Angus &amp; Robertson, Sydney, 1986, p 46-48.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-family: Cochin; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: 4.7px; line-height: normal; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"><sup>48 </sup></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Iverson, David &amp; Hill, Stephen [Ed.], “The Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign 1887-1893”, Baldwin’s, London, 2015.</span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-research field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Research:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/research/australian-gold-coinage">Australian Gold Coinage</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-productid field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Product ID:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/items/australia-1887-sydney-gold-two-pound-proof-jubilee-head-fdc">Australia 1887 Sydney Gold Two Pound Proof Jubilee Head FDC</a></div></div></div>Thu, 25 Oct 2018 06:40:46 +0000andrew11531 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/1887-sydney-gold-two-pound-proof-coin-royalty-mystery-and-scandal#commentsThe Small Head Obverse of King George V on Australia's Soveriegnshttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/small-head-obverse-king-george-v-australias-soveriegns
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><span style="font-size: 13.008px;">To the Australian sovereign collector, the adoption of the Small Head portrait of King George V doesn’t appear to have been urgently required - it does not correspond with any major anniversary of George V’s reign.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>I have not been able to locate any significant discussion of this obverse type anywhere to date, and have compiled the following information from the resources available to me. Be advised that it is a work in progress, and will be amended and added to as more information comes to hand.</em></p>
<p>Although many sovereigns with the Large Head portrait of King George V do not have fine details of the reverse design fully struck up, that is more to do with dies wearing through mass production than any significant inherent design fault.</p>
<p>This is another indication that the change of portrait resulted from broader considerations.</p>
<p><strong>No Evidence of Production Challenges in the Royal Mint Annual Reports <img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/SOGV29MPROOF_1.jpg" alt="1929 Melbourne Proof Sovereign - Obverse" title="1929 Melbourne Proof Sovereign - Obverse" style="width: 400px; padding: 10px; float: right;" /></strong></p>
<p>If production staff at the Australian branches of the Royal Mint were experiencing significant challenges when striking sovereigns, we would expect to see those problems mentioned in the Annual Reports between 1911 and 1928.</p>
<p>A review of those Annual Reports does not yield any such commentary however. The only significant challenge in the production of sovereigns during this period is mentioned in the Annual Report of the Sydney branch in 1925, where Deputy Master John Campbell stated that <em>“Every trouble incidental to an obsolete and worn-out plant seemed to be encountered.”</em></p>
<p>In 1925, the Sydney Mint received 10 times the amount of gold that it had in 1924, which meant that production of sovereigns needed to increase similarly to keep pace with the increased supply of raw metal. Campbell’s primary complaint at that time was that <em>“the sudden demand for sovereigns came at a time when the establishment was much below its normal strength, and it was necessary to recruit from outside sources. The machinery (especially the rolling mills) also caused trouble, and it was some time before the coining staff got fully into their stride. In the course of training the new staff (mostly boys), the machinery suffered.”</em></p>
<p>No responsibility for those problems was attributed to MacKellan’s obverse design however: <em>“The percentage of sovereign from bars broken down was a mere 58%, a poor result attributed to the fact that the staff manning rollers and cutters were new.”</em></p>
<p>The Annual Reports for the Australian branch mints do periodically mention the average number of coins that a pair of sovereign dies would strike before being retired - unusually low numbers indicate issues with production, while higher numbers reflect efficient production.</p>
<p>The following table lists the average number of coins that a pair of sovereign dies struck each year, where such figures were mentioned in the Annual Reports by the Deputy Master:</p>
<p><strong>Average Number of Sovereigns Struck Per Pair of Dies:</strong></p>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 49.0px; height: 12.0px; background-color: #bec0bf; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>Year</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 48px; height: 12px; background-color: #bec0bf; border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 4px; text-align: center;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>Mint</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 12px; background-color: #bec0bf; border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 4px; text-align: center;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>Av Per Die Pair</strong></span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 49.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>1876</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 48.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">Melbourne</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">36,000</span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 49.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>1880</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 48.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">Sydney</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">17,500</span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 49.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>1921</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 48.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">Melbourne</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">80,000</span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 49.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>1923</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 48.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; -webkit-font-kerning: none; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: black; float: center;">Melbourne</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">51,000</span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 49.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>1925</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 48.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">Melbourne</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">179,000</span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 49.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>1927</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 48.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">Melbourne</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">103,000</span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 49.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>1928</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 48.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">Melbourne</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">46,000</span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 49.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;"> </td>
<td style="width: 48.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;"> </td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;"> </td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 49px; height: 11px; border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 4px; text-align: center;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>1930</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 48px; height: 11px; border: 1px solid #000000; padding: 4px; text-align: center;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">Melbourne</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">28,000</span></p>
</td>
</tr></tbody></table><p>As can be seen from this relatively random sample of data, the average die life for sovereigns struck with the Large Head portrait of King George V appear to be statistically no lower than those struck with the Young Head of Queen Victoria, nor are they lower than those struck with the Small Head of King George V that replaced it.</p>
<p>If anything, on the basis of this admittedly small and random sample, they appear higher.</p>
<p>In the absence of an alternative explanation then, the available evidence seems to indicate that that the Small Head portrait was introduced to Australia’s sovereigns only for the sake of uniformity, and only after the “Modified Effigy” had been comprehensively applied to the token coinage of Great Britain.</p>
<p><strong>MacKennal’s Portrait Resulted in Ghosting - Particularly on British Pennies </strong></p>
<p>The Royal Mint in London had been experiencing many significant problems in effectively striking copper and silver coins with Bertram MacKennal’s portrait of King George V from the date it was introduced in 1911.</p>
<p>Numismatic texts show those problems were not fully resolved until 16 years after the King’s accession had passed. Although it was widely regarded as handsome, MacKennal’s portrait of the King was quite deep relative to the reverse designs it was paired with.</p>
<p>This was particularly evident on those denominations that had large areas of open fields, or did not have a high rim that shielded the design from wear.</p>
<p>As the penny had both open fields and a low reverse rim, problems such as a weak reverse strike and “ghosted” reverses were most evident on them. “Ghosting” is the numismatic term used to describe a recessed section of a coin that matches the outline of the design on the opposing side. The “ghosted” design appears beneath the struck design - the outline is only weakly evident, hence the term “ghosting”.</p>
<p>The Royal Mint’s approach to resolving the issues with weak reverse strikes was staggered in four stages across each of the range of copper and silver denominations.</p>
<p>The following table recounts those stages, as delineated by Spink’s “Coins of England”:</p>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 71.0px; height: 12.0px; background-color: #bec0bf; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>Stage</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 12.0px; background-color: #bec0bf; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>Start Date</strong></span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 12.0px; background-color: #bec0bf; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;"><strong>End Date</strong></span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">1st Portrait</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">1911</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">1919</span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">2nd Portrait</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">1920</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">1926</span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 71.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">3rd Portrait</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">1926</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 12.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">1927</span></p>
</td>
</tr><tr><td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">4th Portrait (Modified Effigy)</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">1926</span></p>
</td>
<td style="width: 71.0px; height: 11.0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px;" valign="top">
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: small; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-font-kerning: none; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000;">1936</span></p>
</td>
</tr></tbody></table><p>Although the Royal Mint was concentrating significant resources on upgrading the designs for the copper and silver coinage, MacKennal’s original portrait of King George V remained untouched until 1928.</p>
<p>We can find some logic behind that prioritisation in the greatly reduced role that gold coins played in daily commerce during the First World War. Once war had been declared, one of the British government’s first priorities was to withdraw circulating gold from the economy so that it could be used to fund the national war effort.</p>
<p>To ensure that people still had cash in their tills and pockets, the government introduced ten shilling and one pound Treasury notes, colloquially known as “Bradbury’s”.<a id="fnref:1" class="footnote" title="see footnote" href="#fn:1">[1]</a></p>
<p>Paper currency continued to circulate without issue after WWI ended, the Bank of England resumed issuing ten shilling and one pound notes from 1928.</p>
<p><strong>The 4th Portrait / Modified Effigy / Small Head Obverse </strong></p>
<p>The portrait known by Australian sovereign collectors as the Small Head of King George V has several different titles in Great Britain - it is described by Spink as the 4th Portrait, and is regularly described elsewhere as the “Modified Effigy” (ME).</p>
<p>It was not until this modified effigy of King George V had been introduced in 1927 that the Royal Mint was satisfied the issues of weakly-struck reverse designs and ghosting had been comprehensively addressed.</p>
<p><strong>Points of Difference Between the Large Head and Small Head</strong></p>
<p>When we compare the obverse of a 1928 sovereign with the obverse of a 1929 sovereign, we can observe the following minor but significant differences:</p>
<p>• The beads around the obverse rim are square;</p>
<p>• The square rim beads are larger than the denticles used previously - they leave less room for the legend and the portrait. The legend and the portrait are tighter around the centre of the coin on the Small Head;</p>
<p>• The portrait is smaller; has been completely re-engraved; and has a lower relief;</p>
<p>• The King’s ear, face and truncation are all markedly different;</p>
<p>• The designer’s initials have had the stops removed, and have been relocated closer to the centre of the truncation;</p>
<p>• Less fine detail is evident in the hairline.</p>
<p>A lower relief on the obverse of the Small Head sovereign allowed for a lower relief on the reverse also. The reverse of the Small Head sovereigns struck for circulation are clearly more rounded and less sharp than those struck between 1911 and 1928.</p>
<p>More research is required to determine if those changes resulted in increased efficiency in production.</p>
<p><strong>The 1929 Melbourne Proof Sovereign </strong></p>
<p>The striking of the 1929 Melbourne proof sovereign would have been a major occasion for the staff at the Melbourne Mint - a gold coin had not been struck by the Melbourne Mint to an archival standard since 1911, some 18 years earlier.</p>
<p>The Small Head or Modified Effigy of King George V was also the first design change to any Australian coin since the 1927 Parliament House florin was struck two years earlier.</p>
<p>Melbourne Mint staff had developed some modest experience in striking silver coins to proof quality, now was their chance to strike gold to the same stunning standard.</p>
<p>For those collectors interested in knowing exactly how rare certain coins are, unfortunately no records were kept recording the dates on which proof or specimen sovereigns were struck by the Melbourne Mint, much less how many were struck of each date.</p>
<p>In the absence of written Mint records to this effect, the incredibly low number of 1929-M proofs seen at auction over the past 5 decades is clear evidence that very few proofs were struck with that date. Auction records indicate that 2 and certainly no more than 3, of these historic coins are in private hands.</p>
<p>In his history of the Melbourne Mint, former employee and devoted numismatist Bill Mullett stated that <em>“Specimen coins were produced by the Mint during the era of gold coinage. The dies used were those for the coinage for circulation. The numbers of specimens and proofs was extremely small.<a id="fnref:2" class="footnote" title="see footnote" href="#fn:2">[2]</a>”</em></p>
<p>Regarding the number of proof sovereigns thought to have been struck each year, Mullett states that <em>“…the number of “proof” coins of a year was possibly no more than four and often less. It was stated on the sale of one such coin “having personally obtained it from the Melbourne Mint (believed only 3 or 4 were struck off for special collectors).<a id="fnref:3" class="footnote" title="see footnote" href="#fn:3">[3]</a>”</em></p>
<p>Indications are that the Melbourne Mint proofs dated between 1888 and 1893 are slightly more readily available than those struck before or after that era. Mullett states that <em>“It was recorded that in 1893 the Mint struck specimen half sovereigns for the years 1888 to 1893. There would appear to have been as many as 10 of each year, of which 3 or 4 could have been for special collectors, and the rest for official collections. The official figures give no production of half sovereigns in the years 1888 to 1892. It would be fair to say that these particular coins … were not sold but exchanged for coins from circulation. Under this arrangement the Mint’s stock of gold was unaltered, so no issue would be recorded.<a id="fnref:4" class="footnote" title="see footnote" href="#fn:4">[4]</a>”</em></p>
<p>Indications are that of the very few gold specimens and proofs struck by the Melbourne Mint, one or more from each year were swapped or traded with collectors or other institutions for coins that were added to the Mint’s own archival collection.</p>
<p>Mullett goes on to state:<em> “The Melbourne Mint had eventually built up a most important coin collection which included quite a number of rare coins. Its sources were from specimens it had received from other Mints, from specimens of its own production and from purchases from coin dealers. Its funds seemed to have been derived from the sale of old newspapers and old casks. In some cases where there were a number of specimens, it was also possible to use the spares for the purchase of other coins. The enthusiastic period of collecting began about the 1890’s.<a id="fnref:5" class="footnote" title="see footnote" href="#fn:5">[5]</a>”</em></p>
<p>No official Melbourne Mint records yet have been identified that specifically refer to the 1929-M proof sovereign. One comment by the Deputy Master in his Annual Report for 1929 states that <em>“This year saw the introduction of a new obverse design for the sovereign ‘which produces a drastic artistic effect’. The opportunity was taken to make the beading on the obverse of the same pattern as the square beading of the Pistrucci design on the reverse.<a id="fnref:6" class="footnote" title="see footnote" href="#fn:6">[6]</a>”</em></p>
<p>In an introduction to a retrospective of MacKennal’s work in 2007, a curator at the Art Gallery of New South Wales stated that <em>“MacKennal’s status as an Australian cultural hero is undeniable.<a id="fnref:7" class="footnote" title="see footnote" href="#fn:7">[7]</a>”</em></p>
<p>Incredible rarity, history and “drastic artistic effect” by an Australian cultural hero - the appeal that the 1929 Melbourne sovereign has is undeniable.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<hr /><ol><li id="fn:1">
<p><a href="https://www.rbsremembers.com/remembers/banking-in-wartime/supporting-the-nation/the-first-government-banknotes.html">https://www.rbsremembers.com/remembers/banking-in-wartime/supporting-the...</a> <a class="reversefootnote" title="return to article" href="#fnref:1"> ↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol><ol><li id="fn:2">
<p>Mullett; Bill, “Melbourne Mint - The Establishment”, Self-Published, Canberra, 1996, p 19. <a class="reversefootnote" title="return to article" href="#fnref:2"> ↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol><ol><li id="fn:3">
<p>Mullett; Bill, “Melbourne Mint - The Establishment”, Self-Published, Canberra, 1996, p 21. <a class="reversefootnote" title="return to article" href="#fnref:3"> ↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol><ol><li id="fn:4">
<p>Mullett; Bill, “Melbourne Mint - The Establishment”, Self-Published, Canberra, 1996, p 21. <a class="reversefootnote" title="return to article" href="#fnref:4"> ↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol><ol><li id="fn:5">
<p>Mullett; Bill, “Melbourne Mint - The Establishment”, Self-Published, Canberra, 1996, p 32. <a class="reversefootnote" title="return to article" href="#fnref:5"> ↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol><ol><li id="fn:6">
<p>Royal Mint Annual Report; London; 1929 <a class="reversefootnote" title="return to article" href="#fnref:6">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol><ol><li id="fn:7">
<p><a href="http://archive.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/__data/page/10540/mackennal_edkit.pdf">http://archive.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/__data/page/10540/mackennal_edkit.pdf</a> <a class="reversefootnote" title="return to article" href="#fnref:7"> ↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol></div>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-research field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Research:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/research/australian-gold-coinage">Australian Gold Coinage</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-productid field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Product ID:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/items/1929-melbourne-george-v-small-head-sovereign-about-unc-pcgs-au58">1929 Melbourne George V Small Head Sovereign about Unc (PCGS AU58)</a></div></div></div>Sun, 10 Jun 2018 01:12:53 +0000andrew10777 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/small-head-obverse-king-george-v-australias-soveriegns#commentsThe Melbourne Mint - The Natural Gateway to Australia’s Goldfieldshttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/melbourne-mint-natural-gateway-australia%E2%80%99s-goldfields
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>Although a mint was not established in Victoria until 1872, as early as the 1850s the Victorian Government and business community lobbied the various decision makers in London for the first overseas branch of the Royal Mint to be located in Melbourne. Although historians have recorded rivalry between New South Wales and Victoria before this issue arose, the location of Australia’s first official mint was a further cause for competition between the two colonies for several decades.</p>
<p>In some respects, the Victorians were perhaps justified in believing that Melbourne would have been a far more appropriate location than Sydney – the volume of gold exported from the Victorian goldfields between 1851 and 1865 was close to five times that exported from New South Wales.<a title="" href="#_edn1">[i]</a></p>
<p>Furthermore, Melbourne was regarded by many as “the natural gateway to Australia’s goldfields”.<a title="" href="#_edn2">[ii]</a></p>
<p><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/MELB_MINT_CREST.jpg" alt="" title="" width="" height="" border="0" style="float: right;" /></p>
<p>While Sydney faces the Pacific Ocean and the United States, Melbourne was located directly in line with the main shipping route from Europe to Australia and was considered by some to be around 1000 miles closer to Europe than Sydney. Its relative proximity to the Victorian goldfields and ease of access to the Murray–Darling river system were further advantages.</p>
<p>One of the key initial reasons that Sydney was chosen rather than Melbourne was that the British Colonial Secretary, Earl Henry Grey, had given tacit approval to the establishment of a mint in Sydney on 20 February 1852.</p>
<p>Although gold had been discovered at Mount Alexander, Bendigo and Ballarat in July, August and October of 1851 respectively, this news had not reached London until around the time of Grey’s approval. Certainly, the richness of the Victorian goldfields were not known in London for some months after that.</p>
<p>The first official petition for a mint at Melbourne was not sent by Governor La Trobe until 27 July 1852, and did not arrive in London until October of that year – nearly 8 months after the initial decision in favour of Sydney had been made.</p>
<p>The position adopted by the British Treasury when they received Victoria’s request was that the undertaking made by Earl Grey to New South Wales was to be honoured, and that the question of a second mint in Melbourne would be addressed only when the success (or otherwise) of the Sydney Mint had been determined.</p>
<p><strong>The First Dies Sank In a Shipwreck Off the Coast of Ceylon</strong></p>
<p>As the question of the purity of Australian gold had been resolved by 1866, along with plans for complete uniformity among all sovereigns struck within the British Empire, the relevant decision makers in London would have been satisfied that the operation of a branch of the Royal Mint on the opposite side of the world did not pose a significant risk to the reputation of the Empire’s coinage, nor would its operation be a drain on Britain’s resources.</p>
<p><img src="/sites/default/files/external_images/3ee70080.jpg" alt="" title="" width="" height="" border="0" style="float: right;" />A second petition was made in 1865 by Victoria for a mint in Melbourne, and the <em>Victorian Mint Act</em> was passed on 6 September 1867.</p>
<p>Several key staff involved in the establishment of the Sydney Mint were seconded to perform the same duties in Melbourne, with the balance of the staff arriving from London in January 1872.</p>
<p>The opening ceremony took place on 12 June 1872, with the first coins being struck by Governor Sir John Manners-Sutton and his wife.</p>
<p>The early months of the Melbourne Mint were fraught with difficulties, not least of which was the complete loss of an important batch of dies in a shipwreck off the coast of Ceylon in November 1871.</p>
<p>The Royal Engineer in charge of the establishment of the Melbourne Mint, Colonel Ward, had actually requested that dies dated 1870 and 1871 be sent.</p>
<p>His request for dies dated 1870 was declined by the Royal Mint and, as most of his staff would not be in Melbourne until January 1872, the dies dated 1871 would be redundant.</p>
<p>Ward made a further request for 1872-dated dies, and it was these that went down with the <em>Rangoon</em> in the Port of Galle in November 1871. In order to minimise the impact of a similar unforeseen event, the next batch of dies was split into two separate parcels, which arrived in April and May 1872.</p>
<p>The efficiency of the Melbourne Mint’s coin production in the early days left much to be desired – half sovereigns were not being produced at all, and the number of sovereigns that the mint was obtaining per pair of dies was far below what was necessary.</p>
<p>This inefficiency led to a marked shortage of dies towards the end of the year, and there was some concern that at the rate the existing stock of dies were being destroyed, and given the length of time it took for replacements to be obtained from London, the Melbourne Mint might run out of dies altogether.</p>
<p><strong>The Danish Jeweller Julius Hogarth Experimented With the Production of the Melbourne Mint’s First Dies</strong></p>
<p>In an attempt to make the most of the mint’s scarce resources until further dies arrived from London, Colonel Ward engaged the services of a die engraver in Melbourne by the name of Julius Hogarth.</p>
<p>Hogarth was a Danish jeweller who had arrived in Sydney in 1852 with a Norwegian named Conrad Erichsen.</p>
<p>Together, the two men established a jewellery business that gained some repute, producing some of the most expensive and keenly sought-after jewellery and sculpture in Australia at that time.</p>
<p>Their exceptional technical skills and creativity saw them emerge among the first artisans in Australia to incorporate local flora and fauna in decorative artworks. They are also well known among numismatists for the small number of silver threepence tokens they issued between 1858 and 1860, which remain eminently collectable today. Their business skills did not match their technical skills, unfortunately, and in 1860 Hogarth and Erichsen were bankrupt.</p>
<p>Julius Hogarth had travelled to Melbourne in 1866 with the specific aim of gaining employment at the new branch mint, and Ward’s commission required him to experiment with the production of dies.</p>
<p>Such a task requires highly specialised skills, and it is probably hardly surprising that, despite his acknowledged talents, Hogarth regarded his work in producing dies as “a failure altogether”.</p>
<p>He came up with the idea of altering the dates of existing dies so that they could be used if they were required. The result of this work remains evident for collectors today.</p>
<p>Essentially, Hogarth added a number “2” to the date of 60 obverse dies, and although his work significantly increased the number of coins the Melbourne Mint was able to produce during 1872, it cannot be regarded as impeccable since the number “1” can still be seen under the “2” on many 1872 Shield sovereigns available to collectors today.</p>
<p>The additional replacement dies ordered by Ward in July 1872 arrived in Melbourne in October, thus allowing the Melbourne Mint to move forward without further impediment. Julius Hogarth went on to obtain full-time employment as a medal engraver with the medal producers Stokes and Martin, the business that acquired much of the equipment of the failed Kangaroo Office. Many medals and tokens engraved by Hogarth for Stokes remain available to collectors today.<img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/M_MINTMARKS.jpg" alt="" title="" width="" height="" border="0" style="float: right;" /></p>
<p>By the time of its closure in 1931, the Melbourne Mint had gone on to produce the highest number of sovereigns issued by any branch of the Royal Mint – a clear reflection of the richness of the goldfields of Bendigo and Ballarat.</p>
<p>It was at these same goldfields that the notorious Eureka Stockade took place back in 1854, an event that was influential in shaping the collective Australian psyche.</p>
<p>The wealth of the Victorian goldfields, often when spent as gold sovereigns from the Melbourne Mint, for ever transformed the architecture, society and culture of Australia.</p>
<p>Much of this transformation may be traced through a collection of sovereigns from the Melbourne Mint.</p>
<p><strong>Collecting the Sovereigns Struck at the Melbourne Mint</strong></p>
<p>A complete set of Melbourne Mint sovereigns spans 59 years, 7 obverse and reverse types, and 72 dates.</p>
<p>Although this set is nowhere as difficult to achieve as a complete set from the Sydney Mint, there are enough truly rare coins in the Melbourne set to present even the most earnest and well-funded collector with a challenge.</p>
<p>Many dates from the Melbourne Mint are seen but once or twice a decade in superior quality, and are coveted by discerning collectors when they do happen to become available.</p>
<p>For collectors seeking just one representative gold sovereign from the Melbourne Mint, the Queen Victoria Young Head obverse may be considered to be the preferred choice.</p>
<p>The full spectrum of rarity and affordability may be found in both the Shield and St George series, leaving the collectors with a wide range from which to select a coin that for them best captures the Eureka spirit of the Victorian goldfields.</p>
<div><br clear="all" /><br /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><div>
<p><a title="" href="#_ednref1">[i]</a> Brian Fitzpatrick, <em>The British Empire in Australia, </em>p 109.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p><a title="" href="#_ednref2">[ii]</a> Cook McCalman and Ed Reeves, <em>Gold: Forgotten Histories and Lost Objects of Australia</em>, p 52.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-research field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Research:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/research/australian-gold-coinage">Australian Gold Coinage</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-productid field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Product ID:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/items/1884-melbourne-young-head-half-sovereign-unc-pcgs-ms62">1884 Melbourne Young Head Half Sovereign Unc (PCGS MS62)</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/items/1876-melbourne-young-head-sovereign-choice-unc-pcgs-ms64">1876 Melbourne Young Head Sovereign Choice Unc (PCGS MS64+)</a></div></div></div>Mon, 12 Jun 2017 08:16:40 +0000andrew8866 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/melbourne-mint-natural-gateway-australia%E2%80%99s-goldfields#commentsThe 1861 Sydney Mint Half Sovereign With the Type 2 Reversehttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/1861-sydney-mint-half-sovereign-type-2-reverse
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>The 1856 Sydney half sovereign with the Type 2 reverse (HST256R2) was for several years unique within the Australian gold coin series - no other circulating Australian half sovereign was known with this exact reverse design.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/HST261REV2.png" alt="The 1861 Sydney Mint Half Sovereign With the Type 2 Reverse" title="The 1861 Sydney Mint Half Sovereign With the Type 2 Reverse" width="250" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></p>
<p>That all changed in April 2012 however, when an eagle-eyed numismatist spotted an 1861 Sydney half sovereign that had the same reverse design.</p>
<p>The 1856 Sydney half sovereign with the Type 2 reverse is extremely rare in any condition - research as at July 2016 indicates that possibly around 12 unique examples are known to be available to collectors.</p>
<p>The 1861 Sydney Half Sovereign with the Type 2 reverse is in fact quite a bit rarer - just 4 unique examples have been sighted on the open market to date.</p>
<p>The current body of knowledge on the background of the 1856 Sydney half sovereign with the Type 2 reverse has evolved over time:</p>
<p><strong>November 1981</strong> - The coin was first published in the Spink Noble Sale 39 auction catalogue in November 1981. Thought to have been produced by the same matrix used to strike the 1853 Sydney Mint pattern half sovereign - one of the most important coins in Australia's numismatic history.</p>
<p><strong>2005</strong> - Research conducted in preparation for the auction of gold coins taken from the Reserve Bank's archives showed that the reverse die used to strike the 1856 Sydney half sovereign with the Type 2 reverse was in fact quite different to both the 1853 pattern half sovereign, as well as all other Sydney Mint half sovereigns.</p>
<p><strong>2012</strong> - the first 1861 Sydney Half Sovereign with the Type 2 reverse was identified on eBay by a WA numismatist</p>
<p>That the 1856 half sovereign with the Type 2 reverse was struck with a pattern reverse die is beyond dispute, whether you believe this came about by accident or design depends on your view of the organizational culture and working conditions at the Sydney Mint during these formative years.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/REVERSE_2_COMBINED.jpg" alt="The Type 2 Reverse of the Sydney Mint Half Sovereign" title="The Type 2 Reverse of the Sydney Mint Half Sovereign" width="400" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></p>
<p>One logical explanation put forward regarding the existence of 1856 half sovereigns with the Type 2 reverse is that a further "pattern" half sovereign reverse die (i.e. one different to the die used to strike the 1853 patterns, and also different to those used to strike coins for circulation) was somehow unintentionally mixed with a batch of "working" half sovereign dies sent from London, and that therefore it was used quite by accident.</p>
<p>A more pragmatic thought is that the Sydney Mint may have been short of half sovereign reverse dies at some stage during 1856, and that the pattern die was deployed into the production process out of necessity.</p>
<p>It is likely that Sydney Mint staff found themselves in the same situation in 1861, which led to the existence of this particular example.</p>
<p>These circumstances mean the 1861 Sydney Half Sovereign with the Type 2 reverse is another rare and important reminder of the lengths that Sydney Mint staff were forced to go to ensure that production of Australia's earliest half sovereigns could continue uninterrupted.</p>
<p>In that sense, it ranks alongside the 1856 Sydney half sovereign with the Type 2 reverse, the 1858 Type II Sydney Mint half sovereign with the RR reverse legend "error", as well as the overdates known in the Type 2 Half Sovereign series.</p>
<p>As time passes, I expect further research will be done into the relationship between the die states of the different Type 2 reverse Sydney Mint half sovereign, which will increase clarity regarding the likely reasons behind their existence.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-research field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Research:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/research/australian-gold-coinage">Australian Gold Coinage</a></div></div></div>Wed, 03 Aug 2016 03:39:41 +0000andrew7044 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/1861-sydney-mint-half-sovereign-type-2-reverse#commentsA Ground-Breaking Document Has Been Published on Australia's Jubilee Sovereignshttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/ground-breaking-document-has-been-published-australias-jubilee-sovereigns
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><span style="font-size: 13.008px;">The document I’m referring to isn’t specifically about “Australian” sovereigns, but was written on the British sovereigns featuring Joseph Edgar Boehm’s “Jubilee” portrait of Queen Victoria, stuck by the Royal Mint between 1887 and 1893. The brochure is called </span><a style="font-size: 13.008px;" href="http://issuu.com/jammdesign/docs/jubilee_brochure/1">“The Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign”</a><span style="font-size: 13.008px;">, and has been written by David Iverson and Stephen Hill. (Click that link to read it online.)</span></p>
<p>As the mints located in Australia at that time (Sydney and Melbourne) were branches of the Royal Mint (and were not “Australian” mints per se), they are also covered by this document. If you haven’t already guessed it, the document was published in London, and was written by two of the most experienced numismatists in the world in this series.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/JUBILEESOVBOOK_COVER.jpg" alt="Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign Book" title="Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign Book" width="350" style="float: left; margin: 5px;" /></p>
<p>The stated aims of the publication are to identify the various varieties of the Jubilee Head sovereign, and to also quantify just how rare each of those varieties might be expected to be.</p>
<p>For mine, the publication also adds a great deal more human interest to this sovereign series - the brochure makes reference to a great deal of correspondence between the most important figures involved with the design and production of these coins, and even includes images of that correspondence, bringing the stories behind them vividly to life.</p>
<p><strong>The Authors David Iverson and Stephen Hill</strong></p>
<p>When he attends auctions in the UK, David Iverson has been referred to by some folks as “The Jubilee Head Sovereign Man”, which should be taken as being some acknowledgement of his dedication to this area of numismatics. David has collected Jubilee sovereigns for some time now, and he wasn’t satisfied when certain questions of his regarding differences in the obverse of certain Jubilee-head sovereigns weren’t answered satisfactorily. Rather than simply accept these explanations, he decided to answer them himself. That resilience and attitude led to the publication of this booklet.</p>
<p>I was interested to read that David was attracted to the Jubilee Head sovereign series for exactly the same reason many Australian collectors choose it - the coins were only struck across a s`even year period, which means the total number of coins in the set is quite achievable.</p>
<p>Stephen Hill is a Director of the London numismatic auction house and dealer, Baldwin’s. Stephen specialises in English, Scottish and Irish milled and hammered coins and has a good general knowledge of many other areas. Additionally he has dealt in tokens and commemorative medals in the last decade of the 20th Century. Stephen facilitated David’s research, and edited the publication as well.</p>
<p><strong>The Background to Boehm's Design</strong></p>
<p>Although the background to the issue of the Jubilee Head portrait had been explored in great detail in the British Numismatic Society Journal in 1984, this publication does point out that the designer of the Jubilee Head portrait, Joseph Edgar Boehm, certainly took his time in arriving at the finished product. Queen Victoria had her first sitting with Boehm in June 1879, yet the first sovereigns featuring this portrait were not released into circulation until June 1887! </p>
<p>That there was a widespread negative response to the Jubilee portrait is now well known. The most pointed reaction was from Sir Charles Oman, a noted British historian and President of the Royal Numismatic Society, who described it as being no less than “The greatest disappointment of the century."</p>
<p>Whatever the reaction of the general populace was to Boehm’s design, it is regarded by collectors as just another of the noble designs in the British / Australian Sovereign series.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/JUBILEESOVBOOK_INTRO.jpg" alt="Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign Book" title="Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign Book" width="400" style="float: left; margin: 8px;" /><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>The Jubilee Head Sovereigns of the Sydney Mint</strong></p>
<p>The slow timeline that the Jubilee sovereigns were struck under is no better illustrated than by the fact that although the Sydney Mint intended to release sovereigns with the new Jubilee portrait as soon as was practical after Victoria’s coronation date of June 20th, the Royal Mint did not dispatch dies to them until April 12th, 1887.</p>
<p>Iverson’s brochure is invaluable to Jubilee Head sovereign collectors for a number of reasons, not least because it finally(!) explains why there are a number of seemingly inconsequential differences in the designer’s initials on the truncation of Victoria’s portrait on these coins. It turns out that production was under such pressure to be complete in time for the celebrations for the anniversary of Victoria’s accession. It turns out that these letters were manually punched onto each die by a mint staffer named William Poppett. Given the number of dies used to strike the Jubilee sovereign, it is perhaps surprising there are not more design variations than is now known.</p>
<p>An aside within this section of the brochure sheds new light on the mintage figure of the 1887 Sydney half sovereign with the Young Head portrait, and the reason why they were struck. </p>
<p>The second major contribution of this brochure to our knowledge of the series is the cause of the difference in the obverse legends has now been explained. Iverson makes reference to concerns that several members of the Royal Mint staff (Leonard Wyon among them) had regarding the “metal flow” the new obverse would cause. Although no written sources are cited, Iverson and Hill make no bones that the second legend type (where the distance between the Queen’s portrait and the colon after “G” in the obverse legend is far closer than on the first legend type, and the tip of the crown blends into the denticles around the edge of the coin) was introduced as a solution to this potential problem.</p>
<p>Iverson’s statistical analysis of the die register for Sydney in 1887 leads him to believe (quite logically) that the actual mintage of the 1887 Sydney Jubilee sovereign (long regarded as the rarest date in the entire Jubilee sovereign series), is in fact a third of what it has been regarded previously.</p>
<p><strong>The Jubilee Head Sovereigns of the Melbourne Mint</strong></p>
<p>Iverson points out that the Melbourne Mint staff requested more Jubilee Head sovereign dies just 3 days after the new sovereigns began to be released into circulation. The use of these extra dies explains the relative rarity of the 1887 Sydney Jubilee sovereign to the1887 Melbourne Jubilee sovereign.</p>
<p><strong>Quantified Rarity, Year by Year</strong></p>
<p>Making use of the die register records held by the Royal Mint, and comparing them to the dates of each production run, Iverson has been able to not only approximate how many of each variety was struck, but also the dates across which they were struck - the type of information many collectors just love to sink their teeth into.</p>
<p>This quantified rarity applies not only to the different obverse varieties, but also to the different reverse varieties - long and short tail.</p>
<p>In major news, the authors pointedly debut the existence of the medium tail variety, stating that they believe it to exist due to wear in certain dies, and not due to any particular design changes. Just whether this opinion will gain traction in Australia, where each of the three tail varieties have been accepted for some time, remains to be seen. If collectors can be satisfied that the medium tail difference is indeed only due to worn dies, I can see interest in them waning, relative to the other design variations.</p>
<p><strong>The Appendix - Mintage Figures and Approximated Rarity by Date and Type</strong></p>
<p>The Appendix is where the authors really fly their flag - the rarity of each and every variety is approximated by date. The authors have also demonstrated how rare certain varieties are relative to others in the same year - this accessible information I believe will have a significant impact on the values that varieties within the same year have relative to each other. To use the 1888 Melbourne sovereign as an example, Iverson and Hill show how the mintage of the Legend One variety is most likely just 1% of the total mintage of Jubilee sovereigns at the Melbourne Mint that year - that simply has to have an impact on the prices that collectors will ask for their coins!</p>
<p>My verdict on “The Jubilee Head Gold Sovereign” by David Iverson and Stephen Hill is that it is an excellent, and indeed a compulsory read for anyone that collects Australian sovereigns. It is a significant contribution to the study and enjoyment of this ever-popular sovereign series, and will be sure to inject another round of enthusiasm into the market for these coins.</p>
<p><a href="http://issuu.com/jammdesign/docs/jubilee_brochure/1"> Click this link to read the document online</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-research field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Research:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/research/australian-gold-coinage">Australian Gold Coinage</a></div></div></div>Tue, 13 Oct 2015 12:57:21 +0000andrew6180 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/ground-breaking-document-has-been-published-australias-jubilee-sovereigns#commentsThe Electrotypes of the 1852 Adelaide Ingothttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/electrotypes-1852-adelaide-ingot
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p class="p1">The 1852 Adelaide Ingots are counted among Australia’s most historic numismatic items - they were the very first items produced by the Adelaide Assay Office following the discovery of gold at Mount Alexander (in Victoria) in November 1851. </p>
<p class="p1">These enigmatic slabs of gold are incredibly rare - just 2 exist in private hands anywhere in the world.</p>
<p class="p1">According to a noted authority on the Adelaide Assay Office, James Hunt-Deacon, <em>“The introduction of the Bullion Act and the subsequent coinage … was a masterly stroke of legislature, and played no small part in averting economic catastrophe and laying the foundation for a stabilized currency.</em><sup><span class="s1"><em>[1]</em></span></sup><em>”</em></p>
<p class="p1"><strong>Electrotypes Are Widely Regarded As A Legitimate And Affordable Representation</strong></p>
<p class="p1">The only real way most mortal collectors will ever be able to include a representative Adelaide Ingot in their collection is via the ownership of an electrotype - an accurate duplicate of a genuine example, expertly-made by a craftsman experienced in this specialized process, someone with legitimate access to a genuine example held by a public collection.</p>
<p class="p1">Electrotypes of the Adelaide Ingot have been made by several different numismatists, most are widely regarded as being a legitimate and affordable representation of the very first numismatic items struck in gold in Australia.</p>
<p class="p1">A definitive description of the woeful state of the South Australian economy prior to the introduction of the Bullion Act may be found in a speech made by a member of the South Australian Legislative Assembly in April 1853. George Elder described it as a time <em>“when public and private credit were menaced by imminent and immediate peril – when every man amongst us, however flourishing his previous circumstances and however ample his resources, was threatened with impoverishment, if not with utter ruin – when the honest trader was driven to his wit’s end for the means of meeting his engagements – when general panic and dismay pervaded all classes throughout the colony.”</em><span class="s1"><em>[2</em>]</span></p>
<p class="p1"><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/GW_INGOT_REV.jpg" alt="1852 Adelaide Ingot Electrotype" width="300" height="199" style="margin: 10px; float: right;" /></p>
<p class="p1">Just what could have happened to cause such economic distress?</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>Economic Distress in 1851</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Contemporary reports suggest that once the discovery of gold at Mount Alexander became known in Adelaide, over 8,000 men (from a total population of approximately 50,000) decamped to the goldfields. The impact that this gold rush had on those that remained in Adelaide was plain – the main contributors to the local economy simply were not available. <em>“It was with difficulty the harvest was got in. Mining and other productive operations requiring numerous hands were suspended.<span class="s1">[3]</span>”</em></p>
<p class="p1">The crippling effects of this labour drain were further compounded by the Adelaide monetary system being bled dry of circulating coinage. Prospective miners obviously needed to support themselves until they found a payable gold strike (an uncertain event at least weeks, if not months away), and as such took as much hard currency to Mount Alexander as they could get their hands on. This made it nigh impossible to conduct even the simplest daily transaction, and business in Adelaide largely ground to a halt. Matters did not improve until some of the men began to return to Adelaide in early January 1852, bringing with them some £50,000 worth of gold. Owing to the scarcity of coinage, merchants and bankers were forced to accept gold nuggets and dust in payment for goods. It did not take them long to petition the colonial government to intervene and establish a mint, an action that would be in direct conflict with the Royal prerogative to issue coinage. A memorial to this effect was put to the Lieutenant Governor on January 9th, 1852.</p>
<p class="p1">The gentleman in question was Sir Henry Young, a 41-year-old with legal training and a man who would have clearly understood the precarious position he was placed in. If he permitted the minting of coins he would in effect contravene the Royal prerogative, while if he disallowed them he would undoubtedly earn the ire of Adelaide’s merchants &amp; bankers. Not only would approval be required from London before any such planning could be brought to fruition, but legislation would also have to be passed. This potential delay was obviously exacerbated by the time taken to travel between London and Adelaide, around 90 days in itself. Each of these factors would have weighed heavily on Young’s mind, particularly since the fledgling colony was at that time gripped by economic depression and drought.</p>
<p class="p1">As he did not have the benefit of consulting his superiors in London for advice within a timely period, Young spent some time discussing the matter with the prominent bankers of the day. Mr George Tinline, acting manager of the South Australian Banking Company, was whole-hearted in his support for the idea, while the other two banks that were represented were either negative or lukewarm. Despite Tinline’s determined petitioning, Sir Henry Young declined the proposal for a mint to be established, stating it to be <em>“either impracticable, ineffectual or imperfect.<span class="s1">[4]</span>”</em></p>
<p class="p1">Not to take such a setback as the final word on the matter, the merchant community submitted a second proposal four days later. With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that as committed as Sir Henry Young was to supporting economic development in Adelaide, he could only do so legally if a way through the legislation governing the colony could be found. Instructions to governors of British colonies on the matter of currency were very clear – they were <em>“prohibited assenting in her majesty’s name to any bill affecting the currency of the colony,<span class="s1">[5]</span>”</em> and it was this point that prevented Young from allowing a mint to be established. Fortunately, a proviso to this directive was included, and stated, <em>“unless urgent necessity exists requiring that such be brought into immediate operation.<span class="s1">[6]</span>”</em></p>
<p class="p1">It was this proviso that provided Young with the means by which he could balance both the needs of the colony and his legal responsibilities. The Executive Council of the colonial government met on January 22nd to discuss the issue further, at this meeting it was proposed that the raw gold arriving in the colony could be converted into a form that would benefit the economy without coins needing to be produced.</p>
<p class="p1"><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/GILL_PAGE.jpg" alt="Adelaide Ingot Page in Thomas Gill" title="Adelaide Ingot Page in Thomas Gill" width="300" height="179" style="float: left; margin: 10px;" /></p>
<p class="p1"><strong>A Legal and Practical Solution - Brought Into Law Within 2 Hours</strong></p>
<p class="p1">The following solution was reached: raw gold could be taken to an assay office, where it would be refined and made into ingots, then stamped to indicate their weight and purity. These ingots could then be taken to one of the banks and offered as security against an issue of currency notes to the value of the gold. It was reasoned that business would be facilitated through the availability of these currency notes, and the royal prerogative on the issue of currency would remain unviolated.</p>
<p class="p1">Sir Henry Young sought advice from his Treasurer; the Advocate General; the Crown Solicitor and two judges, and all were of the opinion that the solution would be acceptable to London. <em>“A Bill to Provide for the Assay of Uncoined Gold and to Make Banknotes, Under Certain Conditions, A Legal Tender”</em> was proposed to the Legislative Council on January 28th, and became law as the Bullion Act within a staggering two hours.</p>
<p class="p1">The Adelaide Assay Office was opened on February 10th, and on the first day of operations gold to the value of £10,000 was deposited.</p>
<p class="p1">Of the many Adelaide Ingots that were produced between March 4th 1852 and late September 1852, just eight remain in existence. Six of the Adelaide Ingots are in public collections around the world, and the only two in private hands held pride of place in the Quartermaster collection – easily the finest collection of Australian gold coins ever formed.</p>
<p class="p1">The excessively rare Adelaide Ingots are rightly regarded as being integral to the history of Australian numismatics, and are highly coveted by collectors the world over.</p>
<p><strong>Adelaide Ingot Type I - Cast In An Irregular Shape</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Despite the wealth that the Bullion Act brought to the colony, the ingots were criticised for their lack of uniformity – due to the variation in deposits made to the Assay Office, each ingot was unique in shape, colour and purity. Conventional economic theory states that money has several basic characteristics – durability, portability, divisibility, and convenience are among them . The fact that the Ingots were neither divisible nor convenient meant that they were destined to be short-lived.</p>
<p class="p1">Although the Colonial Treasurer intended that the ingots produced by the Assay Office were to be <em>“ingots of one ounce, or some other convenient weight“<span class="s1">[7]</span></em>, the Adelaide Ingots produced initially (Type I) were each cast in an irregular shape – the size and shape were determined primarily by the amount of gold presented by the miner for assay. Markings as to weight and purity are evident on both sides – just three ingots of this type remain in existence.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong><strong>Adelaide Ingot </strong>Type II - Rolled Flat and Trimmed</strong></p>
<p class="p1">On January 23rd 1852, a Mr George Francis (the Assay Office Assayer) notified Lieutenant Governor Young that it would not be possible to produce ingots of a uniform standard by casting, and that the only method by which this could be achieved was by rolling or laminating the metal . Accordingly, the second type of ingot was produced in a completely different style – the metal is much thinner than that of the Type I, and each of the five in existence has been rolled flat. Both types of ingot show evidence of having been trimmed, presumably to adjust their weight.</p>
<p class="p1">Pressure from the public and the banks resulted in the Bullion Act being amended on November 23rd 1852, to allow the issue of gold coins (although technically they were actually tokens) valued at £5; £2; £1 and 10/-.</p>
<p class="p1">Although it is plain that some effort had been made to bring the ingots to some level of uniformity, the prevailing thought was that legal tender pieces in the shape of a coin, and of a uniform weight and purity would ease the difficulties being experienced in using the ingots.</p>
<p class="p1">Despite an official concern that the production of the Adelaide Pounds would be seen by London as a violation of the Royal prerogative to issue coinage, daily business in Adelaide was further expedited by their introduction.</p>
<p class="p1">The Adelaide Ingots then were sporadically produced after the Bullion Act was established in March 1852, and were superseded by the more uniform Adelaide Pounds from September 1852.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>Electrotyping - Using Chemicals and Electricity to Produce Legitimate Duplicates</strong></p>
<p class="p1"><img src="/sites/default/files/external_images/96d58b9c.gif" alt="The Electrotype Process" width="300" height="211" style="float: left; margin: 10px;" /></p>
<p class="p1">An “electrotype” coin is a reproduction made by a process combining chemicals and electricity.</p>
<p class="p1">Although electrotypes are not original coins, they are not regarded in the same class as counterfeits, forgeries or replicas.</p>
<p class="p1">The electrotype process has been used by collectors around the world ever since the process was first invented in 1838,<span class="s1">[8]</span> to create examples of rare and historic coins that were otherwise unobtainable.</p>
<p class="p1">Not only are electrotypes used to complete a set or collection that would otherwise have a glaring omission, they are also used for study purposes. Experienced collectors of ancient coins have been known to include an electrotype in their collection in order to completely tell the story of the coinage of a particular region or era. Museums have been known to include an electrotype in a display for the same reason, or to minimise the risk of loss in the event of vandalism or theft.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>Several Prominent </strong><strong><strong>Public </strong>Collections Include Electrotypes</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Several public prominent collections of Australian coins include electrotypes of Adelaide Ingots - the State Library of NSW (the Dixson collection); Museum Victoria, and the Art Gallery of South Australia are among them.</p>
<p class="p1">The State Library of NSW does not have a publicly available image of the original Adelaide Ingots that it contains within the Dixson collection. It does however have two images of an electrotype of the Sawtell / Reynolds / Thomas ingot that it has had since 1912. This particular electrotype is unusual, in that it remains in it’s early “shell” format, and hasn’t had the interior of the shell filled with base metal to more closely resemble a complete ingot.</p>
<p>Although electrotype duplicates are nowhere near as rare as the original ingots, they are still a scarce and desirable collectible that allows a collector to display the story of the early days at the Adelaide Assay Office. Several numismatists have created legitimate electrotype duplicates of Adelaide Ingots over the years - most are attributed to Edwin Sawtell and George Wilkins, while a small number remain unattributed. This is what is known about the two main producers of electrotypes:</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>Edwin Sawtell - Chronometer and Nautical Instrument Maker</strong></p>
<p class="p1"><strong><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/EDWIN_SAWTELL.jpg" alt="Edwin Sawtell - Chronometer and Nautical Instrument Maker" title="Edwin Sawtell - Chronometer and Nautical Instrument Maker" width="300" height="423" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></strong></p>
<p class="p1">Sawtell was a highly respected <em>“chronometer and nautical instrument maker” that had several businesses at various locations in Adelaide between 1853 and 1889.<span class="s1">[11]</span></em> While James Hunt-Deacon describes Sawtell as being <em>“…a working jeweller of Adelaide<span class="s1">[12]</span>”</em>, Sawtell’s obituary and other biographical notes describe him as being “…the oldest watchmaker and optician in Adelaide.<span class="s1">[13]</span>” Just prior to his death, his business was described as being <em>“…always a delight to those of a scientific turn, as it abounds in novelties, and the proprietor is still as enthusiastic as ever in the scientific branch of his business.<span class="s1">[14]</span>”</em> Sawtell did not appear to have any formal relationship with the Art Gallery of South Australia, Loyau states that <em>“In public matters he took no prominent part, being content to advance the public weal by keeping pace with the colony’s requirements in his special line of business.<span class="s1">[15]</span>”</em> Edwin Sawtell died in October 1889,<span class="s1">[16]</span> his eldest son Alfred Edwin Sawtell died in 1902,<span class="s1">[17]</span> while his second son Charles Sawtell died in 1936.</p>
<p class="p1">Hunt-Deacon states that Sawtell owned an Adelaide Ingot now in the Dixson Collection (part of the State Library of New South Wales), together with Thomas Reynolds and Thomas Walters.</p>
<p class="p1">The Honourable Thomas Reynolds had a range of occupations throughout his working life: he was variously a congregationalist lay leader, goldminer, grocer, jam manufacturer, local government councillor, Member of Lower House, Member of Upper House, Premier and a temperance advocate.<span class="s1">[18]</span></p>
<p class="p1">Thomas Walters is described as being the first headmaster of the first primary school in Adelaide<span class="s1">[19]</span> (Crafers Public School).</p>
<p class="p1">Just what the relationship was between these three men is not clear, however given their respective occupations, it is not difficult to appreciate that they came together to preserve a unique item of South Australia’s heritage by each taking a share in owning an Adelaide Ingot. With his technical expertise, it is not inconceivable at all that Sawtell either made the electrotypes himself, or commissioned them to his own specifications.</p>
<p class="p1">Sawtell’s electrotypes are extremely accurate duplicates, made within 40 years of the ingots being in circulation, by a man that actually owned the ingot being duplicated. They are readily identified by the name “SAWTELL” being punched into one corner of the electrotype, and remain prized by collectors to this day for their rarity and historical importance.</p>
<p class="p1">Dr Arthur Andrews includes an electrotype Adelaide Ingot by Sawtell as item 720 in his book “Australasian Tokens and Coins”<span class="s1">[20]</span>, and describes it as being “very rare”.</p>
<p class="p1">James Hunt-Deacon lists several electrotypes in his book "The Ingots and Assay Office Pieces of South Australia”, and regards an electrotype Adelaide Ingot by Sawtell as item 7b in his catalogue.</p>
<p class="p1">If Hunt-Deacon is correct in naming Edwin Sawtell as a joint owner of the Type 7 Adelaide Ingot, we can conclude that the electrotypes of that ingot with his surname punched into it, were produced prior to his death in 1889. As Sir William Dixson did not acquire the Ingot until 1912, there is a distinct possibility that the electrotypes were produced by either Alfred Edwin Sawtell, or Charles Sawtell.</p>
<p class="p1"><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/Andrews_plate_55.jpg" alt="Andrews Plate 55" title="Andrews Plate 55" width="300" height="197" style="float: left; margin: 10px;" /></p>
<p class="p1"><strong>George Wilkins - "Colourful" Sydney Coin Dealer</strong></p>
<p class="p1">George Wilkins has been described to me by a few old hands in the Australian numismatic trade variously as a coin collector, a coin dealer, a restaurateur, and video store owner.</p>
<p class="p1">Wilkins apparently operated a number of coin dealing businesses in various locations throughout Sydney and Wollongong from the mid 1960’s, possibly through to the early 1970’s. I’ve been advised that Mr Wilkins was thought by some to have overstayed his welcome in the Australian numismatic trade, that he may or may not have had some association with Mr David Gee, and that he was</p>
<p class="p1">regarded as being one of the more “colourful” dealers that were active when coin collecting was at it’s peak in the mid–1960’s. The electrotypes of the Adelaide Ingot made by Wilkins are readily identified - they feature a small “GW” within a circle, punched into one corner on the front of the electrotype.</p>
<p class="p1">These electrotypes are believed to have been produced by Wilkins in the late 1960’s.</p>
<p class="p1">The genuine ingot that Wilkins duplicated was a Hunt-Deacon Type 7, Andrews # 720. As this item has been held by the State Library of NSW in the Dixson collection since 1912, Wilkins either had direct access to items in the Dixson collection, illicit access to the Dixson collection, or produced his electrotypes from an existing electrotype, as produced by Sawtell.</p>
<p class="p1">Wilkins’ electrotypes are somewhat softer in the detail visible across the obverse. Comparing one with the level of detail on an electrotype produced by Sawtell, we can see that sections of the legend are missing in certain areas. The fact that Wilkins produced his electrotypes uniface and in a base metal, and further as he stamped his initials in one corner, indicates no matter how “colourful” his other business activities may have been, it doesn’t appear that he created them in an obvious attempt to defraud. While they may not have the same gravitas as the electrotypes produced by Sawtell in the late 1800’s, the Wilkins electrotypes don’t appear to have suffered in terms of value when they’ve appeared for sale via auction.</p>
<p class="p1">I understand that Wilkins also produced quite acceptable electrotypes of the reverse of a 1930 penny, these are also seldom seen.</p>
<p class="p1"><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/SLNSW_INGOT.jpg" alt="Dixson Collection Sawtell Electrotype" title="Dixson Collection Sawtell Electrotype" width="300" height="200" style="float: left; margin: 10px;" /></p>
<p class="p1"><strong><span style="line-height: 20.0063037872314px;">Electrotypes of the Adelaide Ingots via Auction</span></strong></p>
<p class="p1">Electrotypes of the Adelaide Ingots have been seen at numismatic auctions since at least 1973. In March of that year, Geoff K Gray auctioneers sold the collection of Gilbert Heyde, former President of the Australian Numismatic Society. Heyde owned two different Adelaide Ingot electrotypes - one a Hunt-Deacon Type 7b (as produced by Sawtell), the second a Hunt-Deacon Type 8.</p>
<p class="p1">Both of these items made $310 - equivalent to several Kookaburra pattern pennies, and more than a complete set of 1938 proof coins.</p>
<p class="p1">In more recent years, Adelaide Ingot electrotypes have sold for up to $6,000 via auction.</p>
<p class="p1">The highest price achieved through auction so far for an Adelaide Ingot electrotype was:</p>
<p class="p1">Lot #542, International Auction Galleries Auction 78 (October 2013). Estimate: $3,000, Hammer: $4,950, Nett: $5,903.</p>
<p>Each of the Adelaide Ingot electrotypes that are available to collectors today has a unique appeal, depending on the original ingot it was duplicated from, and depending on the producer of the electrotype.</p>
<p class="p1">They all remain an affordable and accurate representation of one of Australia’s rarest, and most historic numismatic items.</p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
<hr style="width: 100%; height: 1pt; color: black; border-style: solid; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /><ol class="ol1"><li class="li1">Hunt-Deacon; James, “The Ingots and Assay Office Pieces of South Australia”, Hawthorn Press, Melbourne, , p iii. <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Thomas Gill, Coinage and Currency of South Australia, Adelaide: Vardon &amp; Sons, 1912, p50. <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Sir Robert Torrens; (Observations Upon The Working, Present Effects, And Future Tendencies of Act No 1, of 1852, “Making Banknotes Under Certain Circumstances a Legal Tender.”) [Pamphlet printed by the Adelaide Observer, 1852.] <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">James Hunt Deacon, The Ingots and Assay Office Pieces of South Australia, Hawthorn Press, Melbourne, p9 <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Tom Hanley and Bill James, Collecting Australian Coins, Sydney: Kenmure Press, 1967, p46 <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Tom Hanley and Bill James, Collecting Australian Coins, Sydney: Kenmure Press, 1967, p46 <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Deacon, p12 <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrotyping">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrotyping</a> <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Hunt-Deacon; James, “The Ingots and Assay Office Pieces of South Australia”, Hawthorn Press, Melbourne, , p 53. <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">B. Cook, ‘Dixson, Sir William (1870–1952)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dixson-sir-william-6343">http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dixson-sir-william-6343</a>, published in hardcopy 1981, accessed online 23 September 2014. <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Loyau; George, “Notable South Australians”, Carey Page &amp; Co, Adelaide, 1885, p 263. <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Hunt-Deacon; James, “The Ingots and Assay Office Pieces of South Australia”, Hawthorn Press, Melbourne, p 53. <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Loyau; George, “Notable South Australians”, Carey Page &amp; Co, Adelaide, 1885, p 223. <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Loyau; George, “Notable South Australians”, Carey Page &amp; Co, Adelaide, 1885, p 223. <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Loyau; George, “Notable South Australians”, Carey Page &amp; Co, Adelaide, 1885, p 223. <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1"><a href="https://histfam.familysearch.org//getperson.php?personID=I42663&amp;tree=SouthAustralia">https://histfam.familysearch.org//getperson.php?personID=I42663&amp;tree=Sou...</a> (closed)</li>
<li class="li1">DEATH OF MR. A. E. SAWTELL. (1902, September 3). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), p. 6. Retrieved September 24, 2014, from <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4875220">http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4875220</a> <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Gordon D. Combe, ‘Reynolds, Thomas (1818–1875)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/reynolds-thomas-4471">http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/reynolds-thomas-4471</a>, published in hardcopy 1976, accessed online 23 September 2014. <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1"><a href="http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jksgenie/mtbarker/mtbschools.htm">http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jksgenie/mtbarker/mtbs...</a> <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
<li class="li1">Andrews, Dr Arthur, “Australasian Tokens and Coins", Gullick, Sydney, 1921, p 122. <span class="s1"> </span><span class="s2">↩</span></li>
</ol></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-research field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Research:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/research/australian-gold-coinage">Australian Gold Coinage</a></div></div></div>Wed, 24 Sep 2014 04:25:55 +0000andrew5261 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/electrotypes-1852-adelaide-ingot#commentsThe History of the Adelaide Assay Office - the 1852 Adelaide Ingot and Adelaide Poundhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/history-adelaide-assay-office-1852-adelaide-ingot-and-adelaide-pound
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>The 1852 Adelaide Pound is Australia’s first gold coin, minted in response to problems caused by the discovery of gold at Mount Alexander (Victoria) in November 1851.</p>
<p>It is one of Australia’s rarest and most coveted coins, and is seldom seen on the collector market. The story surrounding its conception, production and withdrawal has several threads that have been shown to have enduring appeal – the perseverance and foresight of George Tinline; the leadership of Sir Henry Young; the ingenuity of the Assay Office staff and the enterprise of all those that flocked to the goldfields are all stories that strike a chord with Australians in the 21st century.</p>
<p><strong>Imminent and Immediate Peril</strong></p>
<p>A definitive description of the woeful state of the South Australian economy prior to the introduction of the Bullion Act may be found in a speech made by a member of the South Australian Legislative Assembly in April 1853. George Elder described it as a time <em>“when public and private credit were menaced by imminent and immediate peril – when every man amongst us, however flourishing his previous circumstances and however ample his resources, was threatened with impoverishment, if not with utter ruin – when the honest trader was driven to his wit’s end for the means of meeting his engagements – when general panic and dismay pervaded all classes throughout the colony.”</em></p>
<p><em><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/sites/default/files/products-photos/P-5239_1.jpg" alt="Type II Adelaide Pound" title="Type II Adelaide Pound" width="300" height="301" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" /><br /></em></p>
<p>Just what could have happened to cause such economic distress? Contemporary reports suggest that once the discovery of gold at Mount Alexander became known in Adelaide, over 8,000 men (from a total population of approximately 50,000) decamped to the goldfields. The impact that this gold rush had on those that remained in Adelaide was plain – the main contributors to the local economy simply were not available. <em>“It was with difficulty the harvest was got in. Mining and other productive operations requiring numerous hands were suspended.” </em></p>
<p>The crippling effects of this labour drain were further compounded by the Adelaide monetary system being bled dry of circulating coinage. Prospective miners obviously needed to support themselves until they found a payable gold strike (an uncertain event at least weeks, if not months away), and as such took as much hard currency to Mount Alexander as they could get their hands on. This made it nigh impossible to conduct even the simplest daily transaction, and business in Adelaide largely ground to a halt. Matters did not improve until some of the men began to return to Adelaide in early January 1852, bringing with them some £50,000 worth of gold.</p>
<p><strong>Scarcity of Coinage</strong></p>
<p>Owing to the scarcity of coinage, merchants and bankers were forced to accept gold nuggets and dust in payment for goods. It did not take them long to petition the colonial government to intervene and establish a mint, an action that would be in direct conflict with the Royal prerogative to issue coinage. A memorial to this effect was put to the Lieutenant Governor on January 9th, 1852. The gentleman in question was Sir Henry Young, a 41-year-old with legal training and a man who would have clearly understood the precarious position he was placed in. If he permitted the minting of coins he would in effect contravene the Royal prerogative, while if he disallowed them he would undoubtedly earn the ire of Adelaide’s merchants &amp; bankers. Not only would approval be required from London before any such planning could be brought to fruition, but legislation would also have to be passed. This potential delay was obviously exacerbated by the time taken to travel between London and Adelaide, around 90 days in itself. Each of these factors would have weighed heavily on Young’s mind, particularly since the fledgling colony was at that time gripped by economic depression and drought.</p>
<p>As he did not have the benefit of consulting his superiors in London for advice within a timely period, Young spent some time discussing the matter with the prominent bankers of the day. Mr George Tinline, acting manager of the South Australian Banking Company, was whole hearted in his support for the idea, while the other two banks that were represented were either negative or lukewarm. Despite Tinline’s determined petitioning, Sir Henry Young declined the proposal for a mint to be established, stating it to be <em>“either impracticable, ineffectual or imperfect.”</em> Not to take such a setback as the final word on the matter, the merchant community submitted a second proposal four days later.</p>
<p>With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that as committed as Sir Henry Young was to supporting economic development in Adelaide, he could only do so legally if a way through the legislation governing the colony could be found. Instructions to governors of British colonies on the matter of currency were very clear – they were <em>“prohibited assenting in her majesty’s name to any bill affecting the currency of the colony,”</em> and it was this point that prevented Young from allowing a mint to be established. Fortunately, a proviso to this directive was included, and stated, <em>“unless urgent necessity exists requiring that such be brought into immediate operation.”</em> It was this proviso that provided Young with the means by which he could balance both the needs of the colony and his legal responsibilities. The Executive Council of the colonial government met on January 22nd to discuss the issue further, at this meeting it was proposed that the raw gold arriving in the colony could be converted into a form that would benefit the economy without coins needing to be produced.</p>
<p>The following solution was reached: raw gold could be taken to an assay office, where it would be refined and made into ingots, then stamped to indicate their weight and purity. These ingots could then be taken to one of the banks and offered as security against an issue of currency notes to the value of the gold. It was reasoned that business would be facilitated through the availability of these currency notes, and the royal prerogative on the issue of currency would remain unviolated. Sir Henry Young sought advice from his Treasurer; the Advocate General; the Crown Solicitor and two judges, and all were of the opinion that the solution would be acceptable to London.</p>
<p><strong>A Bill to Provide for the Assay of Uncoined Gold and to Make Banknotes</strong></p>
<p><em>“A Bill to Provide for the Assay of Uncoined Gold and to Make Banknotes, Under Certain Conditions, A Legal Tender”</em> was proposed to the Legislative Council on January 28th, and became law as the Bullion Act within a staggering two hours. The Adelaide Assay Office was opened on February 10th, and on the first day of operations gold to the value of £10,000 was deposited. In his speech to the South Australian Legislative Council in July 1853, Lieutenant Governor Sir Henry Young stated, <em>“the scheme surpassed the expectations of the most sanguine, and completely vindicated the prudence and sagacity of its promoters.”</em> Young pointed towards two facts as being indicative of the success of the Bullion Act. The increased numbers of South Australians returning from the goldfields indicated a collective confidence in the rejuvenated Adelaide economy, while the <em>“accelerated and augmented”</em> sales of Crown land in South Australia was taken to be a demonstration that the newfound economic health was to surely prevail for years to come.</p>
<p>Of the many Adelaide Ingots that were produced between March 4th 1852 and late 1852, just eight remain in existence.</p>
<p>Six of the Adelaide Ingots are in public collections around the world, and the only two in private hands hold pride of place in the Quartermaster collection – easily the finest collection of Australian gold coins ever formed. The excessively rare Adelaide Ingots are rightly regarded as being integral to the history of Australian numismatics, and are highly coveted by collectors the nation over.</p>
<p>Despite the wealth that the Bullion Act brought to the colony, the ingots were criticised for their lack of uniformity – due to the variation in deposits made to the Assay Office, each ingot was unique in shape, colour and purity. Conventional economic theory states that money has several basic characteristics – durability, portability, divisibility, and convenience are among them. The fact that the Ingots were neither divisible nor convenient meant that they were destined to be short-lived.</p>
<p>Not only were the ingots not conducive to circulating as money, but also the banks felt quite restricted in their obligations to holding them. Recent numismatic research on the methods by which the Ingots were produced shows that the Assay Office staff were not only aware of these concerns, but actually took measures to alleviate them. The eight Ingots that remain in existence are differentiated by numismatist into two distinct categories – Type I and Type II.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/sites/default/files/products-photos/P-5239_2.jpg" alt="Type II Adelaide Pound" title="Type II Adelaide Pound" width="300" height="300" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" /></p>
<p><strong>Cast In An Irregular Shape</strong></p>
<p>Although the Colonial Treasurer intended that the ingots produced by the Assay Office were to be <em>“ingots of one ounce, or some other convenient weight,"</em> the Adelaide Ingots produced initially (Type I) were each cast in an irregular shape – the size and shape were determined primarily by the amount of gold presented by the miner for assay. Markings as to weight and purity are evident on both sides – just three ingots of this type remain in existence.</p>
<p>On January 23rd 1852, a Mr George Francis (the Assay Office Assayer) notified Lieutenant Governor Young that it would not be possible to produce ingots of a uniform standard by casting, and that the only method by which this could be achieved was by rolling or laminating the metal. Accordingly, the second type of ingot was produced in a completely different style – the metal is much thinner than that of the Type I, and each of the five in existence has been rolled flat. Both types of ingot show evidence of having been trimmed, presumably to adjust their weight.</p>
<p>Pressure from the public and the banks resulted in the Bullion Act being amended on November 23rd 1852, to allow the issue of gold coins (although technically they were actually tokens) valued at £5; £2; £1 and 10/-. Although it is plain that some effort had been made to bring the ingots to some level of uniformity, the prevailing thought was that legal tender pieces in the shape of a coin, and of a uniform weight and purity would ease the difficulties being experienced in using the ingots. Despite an official concern that the production of the Adelaide Pounds would be seen by London as a violation of the Royal prerogative to issue coinage, daily business in Adelaide was further expedited by their introduction.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the “fine” weight (the actual gold weight once impurities have been taken into account) of the Type II ingots (those produced toward the end of 1852) comes quite close to that of the Adelaide Pound. The main conclusion that may be drawn from this progression towards uniformity in the Assay Office’s issue is that a clear attempt was made to increase the convenience associated with the use of the ingots - to increase their acceptability and perhaps to reduce the inconvenience being felt by the banks. Once analysis of this theory is taken to a deeper level of detail, the story of the Adelaide Assay Office’s Ingots and Pounds will provide an intriguing economic case study in the evolution of money in Australia.</p>
<p><strong>Only 4 Adelaide Pounds Were Actually Issued in 1852</strong></p>
<p>One interesting observation of official records is that only four Adelaide Pounds were actually issued in 1852, and that<strong> just 24,648 Adelaide Pounds were ever struck</strong> - the last produced on February 13th, 1853. The £1 token was the only size produced – although dies were prepared for the £5, neither this size nor the £2 or 10/- sizes were struck for circulation.</p>
<p>Although none of the £5 pieces were ever struck for circulation, twelve examples were struck at the Melbourne Mint (using the official dies) in 1921. Due to a lack of demand from the collector market, five pieces were melted down in 1929, while another five remain in public collections in Australia and around the world. Just two examples of the Adelaide Assay Office Five Pound are available to the collector market, making them one of Australia’s rarest and most historic coins.</p>
<p><strong>London’s Reaction to the Bullion Act</strong></p>
<p>London’s first official reaction to the Bullion Act arrived in Adelaide (via Despatch # 65) in May 1853 , and was overwhelmingly positive – Lieutenant Governor Young was congratulated for the manner in which he had met a crisis of <em>“peculiar urgency and danger.”</em> This correspondence included a presumption that Adelaide’s currency crisis had since been resolved by the export of large amounts of British coinage, indicating perhaps that London did not fully understand the extent of the problems the South Australians were facing.</p>
<p>When news of the second round of legislative amendments (permitting the production of the legal tender Adelaide Pounds) finally reached London in January 1853 (via Despatch # 85), Young was directed to repeal either the whole Bullion Act or at least parts of it. Ironically, this directive did not arrive in Adelaide until August of 1853 , yet the Bullion Act had already been revoked several months earlier. Clause 4 of the Bullion Act stated that if the amount of gold deposited at the Assay Office within one calendar month was less than 4,000 troy ounces, the Lieutenant Governor had the power to revoke the Act and close the Assay Office. Aware that his bold decision in assenting to the Bullion Act had more than achieved the aim of reviving the South Australian economy, and that the supply of labour &amp; currency had improved markedly, Young readily cancelled the historic Bullion Act on February 3rd, 1853.</p>
<p>When the very first Adelaide Pound was struck on September 23rd 1852, Adelaide Assay Office staff became aware of a significant problem – a small crack had appeared between the inner circle and the outer rim at the top of the reverse die (Type I). This indicated that the pressure being used was too great - the Assay Office staff took several measures to alleviate the problem. The first step was to obviously produce another reverse die (Type II), while the second was to produce another edge collar; this one with slightly wider edge milling (Type 1b).</p>
<p>While the Type II reverse die was being designed and engraved, several more coins were struck with the first set of dies to test the new edge collar. Die pressure was reduced on both sides, the resulting examples being observed for any further deterioration of the reverse die. The new (second or Type II) reverse die would not have been put into use until the Assay Office was confident that the new edge collar solved the problem. Numismatic research of the Type 1b (wide edge) Adelaide Pounds confirms that the die pressure was indeed reduced for examples struck with the wider milled edge – this is particularly evident in the crown of the obverse, as well as near the “N” of “ONE” on the reverse.</p>
<p>The exact number of Type I Adelaide Pounds (including both A and B varieties) struck is not known, although contemporary reports suggest that between 25 and 30 examples of this excessively rare Australian coin were produced.</p>
<p>Interestingly for such a historically important and rare Australian coin, a good number of the Type I Adelaide Pounds that remain in existence have been mounted in a piece of jewellery, exhibit planchet flaws, have contact marks to some degree or are heavily worn. Conservatively, less than ten examples of the Type I Adelaide Pound remain in existence in Extremely Fine quality or better. Several of the finest Australian coin collections ever formed (the Marcus Clarke &amp; H.C Dangar collections for example) included Type I’s of this grade, while several other major collections (including Gilbert Heyde’s) included lower quality coins.</p>
<p><strong>Solid Testament to Australian Ingenuity</strong></p>
<p>The Adelaide Ingots and Pounds remain to this day as solid testament to Australian ingenuity during a period of social and economic turmoil. From an economic perspective, research into the gradual move from gold nuggets and dust being exchanged for goods to the return of sovereigns in daily trade is a unique and intriguing case study of the evolution of money in an Australian context. The appeal of these national heirlooms to historians and collectors is heightened further when their rarity and fragile beauty in superior quality is considered. Very few collectors ever enjoy the opportunity of owning either an Adelaide Ingot or Pound, and it is hardly surprising that they are keenly sought by collectors the nation over.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-research field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Research:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/research/australian-gold-coinage">Australian Gold Coinage</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-productid field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Product ID:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/items/1852-type-ii-adelaide-pound-choice-unc-pcgs-ms63">1852 Type II Adelaide Pound Choice Unc (PCGS MS63)</a></div></div></div>Fri, 12 Sep 2014 04:36:30 +0000andrew5124 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/history-adelaide-assay-office-1852-adelaide-ingot-and-adelaide-pound#commentsThe 1926 Sydney Sovereign - Struck for Dignitaries on the Last Day of the Sydney Minthttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/1926-sydney-sovereign-struck-dignitaries-last-day-sydney-mint
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>The 1926 Sydney sovereign is something of an enigma to many numismatists: published information on it is almost as rare as the coin itself.</p>
<p>Although the official gold sovereign mintage for Sydney in 1926 is 131,050, many senior numismatists believe that 131,000 were shipped to London as payment against debts incurred by the Australian Government in World War I. It is thought that these coins were melted down immediately upon arrival in London, and the incredible rarity of this coin certainly appears to bear that theory out.</p>
<p><strong>The Last Sydney Mint Sovereigns Were Struck on August 11th, 1926</strong></p>
<p>Although the last gold deposits at the Sydney Mint were made on June 30th 1926, the last sovereigns were not actually struck until August 11th.</p>
<p>In a description of events relating to the closure of the Sydney Mint, the Deputy Master (Mr A.M. Le Seouf), stated in the Royal Mint Annual Report that <em>“Anything of historic interest has been preserved for public institutions, some gentlemen who had already made valuable presentations to</em><em>the Museums coming forward to purchase valuable additions to their collections. In this way there will be a permanent memorial in this city of the first overseas branch of the Royal Mint.”</em><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/sites/default/files/lightspeed_storage/photos/P-8963_1.jpg" alt="The 1926 Sydney Sovereign - Struck for DIgnitaries on the Last Day of the Sydney Mint" title="The 1926 Sydney Sovereign - Struck for DIgnitaries on the Last Day of the Sydney Mint" width="301" height="300" style="float: right;" /></p>
<div>
<div>
<p>Le Seouf’s note is clear in telling us that the 1926 Sydney sovereigns we see today had a very auspicious birth.</p>
<p>Each of the last fifty were struck for a senior dignitary as a lasting record of the wealth generated by the Sydney Mint.</p>
<p>The renown William Dixson Australiana Collection, now part of the State Library of New South Wales, includes the invoice made out to Sir William Dixson for the purchase of the bullion used to mint the fifty sovereigns on August 11th, 1926.</p>
<p>It also includes a statement describing the way the sovereigns were struck, and is signed by Robert C. Dixson, Sir William’s son.</p>
<p>This statement confirms that the last 1926 Sydney sovereigns were struck for public &amp; selected private collections. Robert Dixson’s note further states that, <em>“…the last eight were struck individually.”</em></p>
<p><strong>The Last Eight Were Struck Individually</strong></p>
<p>It would be logical to conclude that as these final eight coins were struck with the utmost care, their appearance would set them apart from the other forty-two sovereigns produced. Numismatists regard these exclusive coins as <em>specimens</em>. They can be fairly easily differentiated by comparing the appearance of their surfaces, as well as by checking for certain die markers.</p>
<p>Very few Australian coins command a heritage as exclusive and auspicious as the 1926 Sydney sovereign - not only is it one of Australia’s rarest coins, it is also one of the most prestigious to own.</p>
<p><strong> Just Where Are the Eight Specimens Now?</strong></p>
<p>Auction activity for coins as rare as this can be tracked quite carefully - provenances are often noted within auction lot descriptions, and photographs can allow individual coins to be attributed by the identifying marks they exhibit.</p>
<p>Robert Dixson’s note states that the very last two (specimen) sovereigns struck were sent to London, one presumes to the Royal Mint or the British Museum. One numismatist that has researched this coin previously stated that those coins were melted down, and are hence lost not only to collectors, but to public collections also.</p>
<p>Robert Dixson’s note further states that the third and fourth last sovereigns struck were presented to Sir William Dixson – these are housed in the Dixson Collection of Australiana (held by the SLNSW), and are also unavailable to collectors.</p>
<p>We know that <a href="http://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/77054">Museum Victoria (custodian of the former Melbourne Mint collection), also has a 1926 Sydney specimen sovereign</a> in their collection. Notes by their numismatic curator somewhat confusingly state that <em>"Le Souef, the Deputy Master of the Sydney Mint charged with arranging its closure and the person from whose collection this coin came to the Museum, claimed that this was the last coin struck at the Sydney Mint."</em> This comment does not necessarily reconcile with the recollection of Robert Dixson, whose notes stated that the last coin struck at the Sydney Mint was to be sent to London.</p>
<p>While it is possible that Le Souef may have been mistaken regarding the nature of the coin in his possession, it is far more likely that he was given the second of the coins that had been listed as having been struck for Mr Christie (number 8 on Dixson's list). If that is correct, then the accepted interpretation of the order of striking of the coins in Dixson's list has been incorrect.</p>
<p>As there are four 1926 Sydney specimen sovereigns known to be still held in public collections, this leaves just four of these incredibly historic coins available to private collectors.</p>
<p>Robert Dixson's family offered his coin for sale via Noble Numismatics in March 2007 - the identifying marks on that coin do not match with this one. Based on Dixson's list, that coin has been regarded as being the third last sovereign struck.<img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/WATERHOUSE.jpg" alt="G_A_WATERHOUSE" title="G_A_WATERHOUSE" width="200" style="vertical-align: text-bottom; padding: 10px; float: right;" /></p>
<p>The famed Bentley collection of Commonwealth sovereigns was offered for sale by Baldwin's of London in September 2012 - the identifying marks on that coin do not match with this one either. I can trace the provenance of that coin no further back than a Downie's auction in February 1981.</p>
<p>Based on Robert Dixson's note, and the known provenances of the four coins in private hands, I believe the example we offer here was struck either for Dr Waterhouse, or for Mr Christie.</p>
<p>Gustavus Athol Waterhouse was the assistant assayer at the Sydney branch of the Royal Mint between 1900 and 1926, <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/waterhouse-gustavus-athol-8992">his record on the Australian Dictionary of Biography</a> states that he retired upon the closure of the Sydney Mint.</p>
<p><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/files/CHRISTIE.jpg" alt="AJC Christie" title="AJC Christie" width="200" style="vertical-align: text-bottom; float: left; padding: 10px;" /></p>
<p><a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-162502772/view">Alexander John Charles Christie</a> was Superintendent at the Sydney Mint in 1926, and also entered retirement once the Mint closed.</p>
<p>Based on all of the above evidence, we can see that the 1926 Sydney specimen sovereigns available to collectors today can each be traced back to one of two senior and long-standing staff members of the Sydney Mint at the time it closed. That these gentlemen should choose one of these coins as their personal memento of their time working at the Sydney Mint speaks volumes of their numismatic importance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-research field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Research:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/research/australian-gold-coinage">Australian Gold Coinage</a></div></div></div>Wed, 06 Aug 2014 13:24:56 +0000andrew4997 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/1926-sydney-sovereign-struck-dignitaries-last-day-sydney-mint#commentsThe 1887 Melbourne Shield Sovereign - the Last of the Rare Shieldshttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/1887-melbourne-shield-sovereign-last-rare-shields
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><span style="font-size: 13.008px;">The 1887 Melbourne Shield is the last of the enigmatic rare dates that are among the Australian Shield sovereign series. It is one of the few Australian sovereigns that are rarer than their equivalent half sovereign, and is also one of the rarest coins ever struck by the Melbourne Mint.</span></p>
<p>It has long had a strong appeal to date collectors of Australian sovereigns, if only for its rarity alone.</p>
<p>It’s not yet clear what the true cause of this coin’s rarity is, however there are a few factors that may have played a role in restricting the number of coins that were struck, and further that restricted the number of coins that remain available to collectors today:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Limited Quantity Of Gold Deposited At The Melbourne Mint</span></strong></p>
<p>Page 81 of the Annual Report by the Melbourne Branch of the Royal Mint in 1887 states that <em>“The gold raised in Victoria during 1887 is estimated, by the Department of Mines and the Water Supply, to have been 617,571 ounces .... This is the smallest annual production since the discovery of gold in Victoria.”</em></p>
<p>With this statistic in mind, we can see that no matter what production considerations there may have been at the Melbourne Mint in 1887, nor what need (or lack thereof) there was for circulating currency in the Victorian economy in that year, the amount of raw gold available to for the production of sovereigns in 1887 was reduced significantly over previous years.</p>
<p><strong>The Introduction of the Jubilee Head Obverse Design</strong></p>
<p>1887 was a notable year for the Melbourne Mint, if only for the fact that three different die combinations were used to strike sovereigns that year.</p>
<p>1. The Young Head Obverse and the Shield reverse;</p>
<p>2. The Young Head obverse and the St. George reverse; as well as</p>
<p>3. The first Jubilee Head obverse and the St. George reverse.</p>
<p>Page 5 of the Royal Mint Annual Report for 1887 states that <em>“On the 21st June the issue of the “Jubilee” coinage was commenced, and has continued uninterruptedly since.”</em></p>
<p>The staff of the Melbourne Mint saw fit to only record basic overall sovereign mintages in 1887 - 940,000 sovereigns were struck with the Jubilee Head obverse, while 1,910,000 sovereigns were struck with the Young Head obverse and either the Shield or St George &amp; Dragon reverse) - the exact composition of this 1.91 million sovereigns between the St George &amp; Shield reverse is not known.</p>
<p>As the 1887 Melbourne Shield reverse sovereign is exponentially rarer than the 1887 Melbourne half sovereign, and as that coin has a mintage of 64,000 coins, it is thought that the actual mintage of the 1887 Melbourne Shield sovereign may well be substantially lower than 30,000 coins.</p>
<p><strong>Property Speculation and Remittances to London</strong></p>
<p>One historian describes the Victorian economy in 1887 as being beset by property speculation. Such was the rate of this speculation that a city block in Melbourne apparently almost doubled in value over the space of just a couple of months in the latter part of the year.</p>
<p>The Royal Mint's Annual Report for 1887 includes the following comments about banking activity in Victoria at the time: <em>“The amount of sovereigns struck at the branches of the Mint at Sydney and Melbourne, and sent to the Bank of England during the year, was only £202,000, as against £2,187,000 in 1886. The importations of gold coin from Australia have varied considerably in recent years, but have never fallen so low as in 1887."</em></p>
<p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/sites/default/files/lightspeed_storage/photos/P-6134_1.jpg" alt="The 1887 Melbourne Shield Sovereign - the Last of the Rare Shields" title="The 1887 Melbourne Shield Sovereign - the Last of the Rare Shields" width="400" height="396" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" /></p>
<p>In his monumental work <em>"Labour and Industry in Australia"</em>, covering Australia's economic history, Timothy Coghlan states that: <em>"The weather conditions of 1887 were highly favourable to all rural industries. The pastoral industry revived, and the harvest of the year outstripped all previous records, the wheat crop exceeding 19,000,000 bushels. In these favourable circumstances there was a great revival in general trade..."</em></p>
<p>The output of the silver and lead mines of Broken Hill during 1887 was valued at £574,000, and so rapid was their development that this was doubled during the following year. This increase had been anticipated, and towards the end of 1887 there was a wild outburst of speculation, which, beginning in Melbourne, soon reached Adelaide.</p>
<p>All classes took part in this speculation, and the extent to which persons of very limited means joined in, may be inferred from the fact that the Savings Bank deposits actually declined at the end of 1887 and during the first three months of 1888.</p>
<p>Further comments in the Royal Mint's Annual Report for 1887 state that as Australian banks had lent sums significantly higher than their previous annual average in 1887, far more gold was sent from London to Australia than was sent from Australia in that year. Most of the sovereigns produced in Australia in 1887 were retained by Australian banks as reserves against those loans.</p>
<p>In the absence of a precise mintage figure articulating the rarity of the 1887 Melbourne shield reverse sovereign, we can see that the rarity of this coin was influence to some degree by the limited amount of gold mined in Victoria that year, the introduction of the Jubilee Head obverse to Australia's sovereigns, to the boom in trade and property speculation throughout 1887, and the consequent boom in lending by Australia's banks.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-research field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Research:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/research/australian-gold-coinage">Australian Gold Coinage</a></div></div></div>Wed, 06 Aug 2014 12:44:12 +0000andrew4992 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/1887-melbourne-shield-sovereign-last-rare-shields#commentsThe 1886 Melbourne Shield Sovereign - One of the Rarest of All Australian Sovereignshttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/1886-melbourne-shield-sovereign-one-rarest-all-australian-sovereigns
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><strong>Scarce 1886 Melbourne Shield Sovereign</strong></p>
<p>Sovereign collectors the world over have long known Queen Victoria Shield reverse sovereigns to be very scarce, the 1886 Melbourne is the rarest Shield of them all.</p>
<p>Dedicated collectors of the Australian gold series who were active back in the 1970’s will readily tell you that the 1886 M Shield was one of the keys to the entire Australian series.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the vast majority of, if not all shield sovereigns struck in Australia were exported to India. The background to this nuance of distribution provides an insight into world trade in the 19th century. The British East India Company was actively involved in the China-India trade during this period, some of the products traded included: British cotton; Indian textiles; opium; spices and tea; silk and porcelain. One train of thought is that Chinese merchants were most reluctant to accept payment in gold sovereigns featuring the St George reverse design, as it depicted a dragon in an undignified and indeed humiliating position.</p>
<p><strong>The Image of The Dragon</strong></p>
<p><img src="https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/sites/default/files/lightspeed_storage/photos/P-6101_1.jpg" alt="The 1886 Melbourne Shield Sovereign - One of the Rarest of All Australian Sovereigns" title="The 1886 Melbourne Shield Sovereign - One of the Rarest of All Australian Sovereigns" width="300" height="298" style="float: right;" /></p>
<p>In European mythology (such as fairy tales) dragons are generally reviled and hated creatures - slain by the hero of any story they feature in. In stark contrast however, the dragon is one of the most important images in Chinese mythology, and is used to symbolise happiness, immortality, procreation, fertility and activity. Images of dragons appear widely in Chinese architecture, clothing; in decorative arts and in annual festivities. It is hardly surprising then that Chinese merchants may have refused to accept coins featuring an image of a dragon being slain!</p>
<p>An alternative explanation is that the use of an image of St George (the patron saint of England) on British coinage nigh constituted idol worship, a practice that is taboo in many Eastern religions. Yet another (less sensational) explanation for the use of this reverse type in India is that “the people there had become accustomed to that pattern.” Whatever the explanation, “the Master of the Sydney Mint had instructions from the Royal Mint to use the St. George type reverse, and to only strike sovereigns with the shield reverse to special order, mostly for export to India.”</p>
<p>Although India has been a voracious consumer of gold over the years, its demand was not such that the entire output of Australian sovereigns would have been sent there. Indeed, in the only two dates in which the shield mintage is known exactly - 1882 &amp; 1883 Melbourne - shields comprise between a mere 15% and 20% of the total amount struck.</p>
<p>There were no economic or historical events in 1886 that might explain the rarity of the 1886 Melbourne Shield reverse sovereign.</p>
<p>There was something a theme of increased union activity - there were a number of largely unrelated strikes across the country in the earlier part of 1886, while a number of new unions were formed in the latter part of the year.</p>
<p>A review of the Annual Report for the Melbourne branch of the Royal Mint for 1886 unfortunately does not yield any information that sheds light on the extreme rarity of the 1886 Melbourne Shield sovereign. Certainly the exact mintage of this historic Australian gold coin is not explicitly mentioned.</p>
<p>The Annual Report does state that the Melbourne Mint struck some 2,900,000 sovereigns throughout 1886. While this figure is seemingly high, we must keep in mind that the total mintage figure was comprised of sovereigns bearing either the Young Head and Shield reverse or the Young Head and St George reverse.</p>
<p>It is interesting to note that while the mintage of half-sovereigns at the Melbourne Mint in 1886 was just 38,000 coins, the 1886 Melbourne Shield sovereign is exponentially rarer.</p>
<p>Just what the exact mintage is of this coin was is open to speculation, however based on comparative rarity alone, one would think it was far, far lower than 38,000 coins.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-research field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Research:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/research/australian-gold-coinage">Australian Gold Coinage</a></div></div></div>Wed, 06 Aug 2014 12:30:15 +0000andrew4989 at https://www.sterlingcurrency.com.auhttps://www.sterlingcurrency.com.au/research/1886-melbourne-shield-sovereign-one-rarest-all-australian-sovereigns#comments